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#fuck was this some good crunk
lizzie-is-here · 1 year
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lonely is a man without love
part iii- cairo
“i am a deserted sky, and you are the moonlight” - manoj muntashir
summary: you and marc head to cairo, and you make a shocking discovery in the form of a giant skeleton bird
wordcount: 4k
warnings: language, violence, vague references to the red room, drinking, slight pining, a saddening lack of steven
a/n: yuhhh posting this before my bday tomorrow so i can get crunk af. ALSO TAYLOR AND JOE? sobbing. but i hope y’all enjoy love y’all sm sm sm 🫶
taglist: @thefictionalgemini @ravenz-hope @undiscl0sed-d3sir3s @iateall-yourcookies @disregardedplant @sunflowers-4 @yellowumbrelllaaaa @bagsy-not-it @local-mr-frog @thescarletredwitch @jupitersmoon167 @creamecafe @stevenknightmarc @theluciansystem @kingtwhiddleston @spider-biter @mxltifxnd0m @sgt-morgan @no-dont-be-suspicious @onzayhe @namorslit @i-cant-write-for-shit
i’m sorry it won’t let me tag some of y’all 😭
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Marc pokes and prods for more intel on your profession the whole plane ride to Cairo.
Honestly, it’s more of a harsh interrogation at this point, with him making sure you aren’t working for any remnant of the Red Room that managed to stay alive. Once he’s satisfied and his temper cools, you explain why you were sent.
“Righteous” justice or not, he was a danger, killing random people all over Europe and shaking off hits that no normal person should be able to. And the team liked to keep tabs on enhanced beings.
“So the actual Avengers are worried about me? It’s not like I’m going after them,” he says.
You laugh, loud and obnoxious. “Worried? No, you misunderstand. It’s more of a public safety precaution. Just making sure all of our loose ends are tied.”
“Loose ends being…?”
“Hydra. The Red Room-“ You gesture to yourself. “Aliens. Things like that.”
“Yeah…” Marc says, hesitant. “‘Things like that’, sure.”
You lean over a bit, scanning the plane from your aisle seat to check for threats. All you see are tired passengers, dozing off or absorbed in the small TVs on the backs of the seats.
Once satisfied, you turn back to Marc.
“If you want to sleep, now’s a good time. Once we get to Cairo, we’re not going to have much time to rest,” you say, nodding to the TV. 3 hours away.
He eyes you, a bit suspiciously, but closes his eyes anyway. With a sigh, you stand up, snaking through the aisles to the bathroom. You grab your phone and tap a favorited contact.
“(Y/N)?”
“Tasha,” you greet. “Is it a bad time?”
Your friend shakes her head, holding up the phone to show the group. “We just finished a movie, what’s up?”
“So… Marc Spector is here. He has DID, and Steven Grant is an alter, not an alibi. Things are getting serious.”
She nods. “That explains a lot.” You’d been relaying your experiences to them for weeks, and they’d shared in your confusion. Her tone turns more stern. “How serious?”
“Cults, magic, something about a scarab? It’s out of my expertise.”
“Do you need backup?” Steve’s voice calls from the other side of the couch.
You shake your head. “No, it’s nothing I can’t handle. It’s just fucking weird.”
A chorus of laughter goes up on the other end of the phone and you smile, rolling your eyes when a knock lands on the bathroom door.
“I just wanted to update you. We’re heading to Cairo now, so…” You shrug. “I will maybe get some souvenirs.”
The knocking grows more incessant.
“Will you hold on? Your shits can wait!” you call. Turning your attention back to the phone, you sigh. “I’ve got to go. This person is going to kick the door down.”
Nat nods and mock-salutes you. “Have fun, stay safe. You can always call, (Y/N).”
With a brief goodbye, you wash your hands and leave, awkwardly waving at the small child who was the source of the knocking. Sitting down, you sigh, listening to the sound of air and propellers.
No sleep for you, you guess.
———————————————————————
When the plane lands and you rush off, you and Marc find the closest hotel and buy separate rooms.
Even after securing the room and stuffing a gun under your pillow, you still sleep lightly. A shattering sound wakes you, bright light from outside invading your eyes, and you curse under your breath as you clamber out of bed.
You slip out of your door and into Marc’s room, gun still gripped in your hand.
He’s sitting on the floor, head in his hands. A mirror is shattered.
“Are you gonna break more mirrors or can we start the day?” you ask. He raises a bottle.
Snatching it from him, you down the last of the fiery liquid and chuck the bottle. It lands somewhere on the ground behind you, brown glass joining the reflective shards on the tile.
He drunkenly laughs, looking up to where you stand.
Your hair is free and rustled, not like how you normally have it. Your hair is always braided or tied back, something he now realizes is a habit from your training.
There’s a gun in your hand, and he can see your finger on the trigger. Marc regrets waking you, partially out of guilt and partially because he’s once more been reminded that you’re a killer. Which reminds him that he’s a killer.
You’re just a much prettier killer. Much.
“Are you going to get up? Or are you going to stare at me like you want to fight me again?” you laugh. “Because it did not go so great for you last time-“
He waves a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah. ‘M gettin’ up,” he finally says, and you slip away, avoiding glass and heading back to your own room to dress for the day.
Light colors, thin fabrics. Anything to stave off the heat. Once you’re both ready, you and Marc head into the city.
You don’t mention the mysterious absence of Steven, who the vigilante is definitely suppressing. Said vigilante is too busy hunting down his target.
He shakes off the last bit of drunkenness as he leads you up a ladder, not really telling you where you’re going or why. It doesn’t bother you, per se, but you are curious as to how he knows where to go. Sometimes he glances at empty spaces, as if listening to something not quite there.
You have no time to ponder this strange behavior as you leap across rooftops and nimbly avoid obstacles that Marc barrels through.
Your question as to who you’re hunting down is answered when you see a group of men, with one being stabbed in the stomach right as you arrive. Great.
“Oh, shit,” Marc sighs. “You killed him? I needed to talk to that guy. About a dig sight.”
“I don’t think they can un-stab him,” you snort.
He nods. “True. Guess I’m gonna have to talk to you all instead.”
“You’re too late,” one of them growls. “You’re never gonna find Harrow.”
“That’s his name?” You audibly gag. “Eugh, that’s a shit name for a cult leader.”
The guy tosses his knife in the air, following it up by tracing the blade along the ground.
“Ooh,” Marc says. “What, are we dancin’? We fightin’? What are we gonna do?” You step back as one of them lunges, deciding to go easy on them and not use a weapon.
Slamming one against the wall is easy enough, though he gets up soon after and targets Marc instead. One of them, a kid, charges at you.
You disarm him and shove him on his ass, not wasting your time on a literal child. Whipping around, you grab the handle of a knife as it zooms past, a few inches past your shoulder.
“Seriously? Learn to aim,” you say to yourself as you toss the knife off the roof.
It’s going rather well for a street fight. Much more fun, albeit less challenging than any of your Red Room missions.
And then it all goes to shit.
Marc’s got a knife to a guy’s throat, but something changes. A brief moment of silence, and he slams the blunt handle on his head, hard enough for him to bleed.
You let him go to town fighting the other two, who are now much more scared of him. It’s only when he meets your gaze that you realize something is deeply wrong. The hairs on your neck rise.
That’s not Marc. Definitely not Steven.
Your suspicions are confirmed when he leaps from the roof and disappears into the crowd.
What the fuck?
You follow, sprinting down streets as you barely stay on his tail.
When you manage to catch up to Marc, or whoever, he’s staring down a cliff with two dead bodies on the ground. You don’t have to look to know that the third lies at the base of the steep drop.
“Marc? What the fuck just happened?” you demand.
He whirls around, fear in his eyes.
“I- I don’t know. That wasn’t me, or Steven. So what-”
The wind swirling interrupts him, and he stares off at a rusty car.
“And what is so interesting about the car that-”
“We have to find Harrow. What about the other gods?”
You furrow your brow. “What?”
A disembodied voice responds, “To signal with an audience with the gods is to risk their wrath-”
You’ve never pulled out a gun faster. Turning in circles, you find no source. No people, no tech. Your breath quickens, aiming the firearm at random.
“Okay, Marc?” you begin. “I’m all good with cults, and floating scarabs, and even some magic, but you are going to have to explain that voice before I start freaking out.”
The man sighs, glancing back to the air.
“I serve the Egyptian god Khonshu. I’m his… avatar.” The delusional nature of his statement is offset by how naturally he says it, so much so that you do a double-take.
“And you’re just telling me this now? Of course, of course, the first mission I go on after fighting a grape from space has Egyptian gods,” you hiss. “Don’t tell the public, Thor’s got plenty of fangirls that you don’t want.”
The voice sounds again. “I doubt they’d find the same appeal in me.”
You shrug, but when you turn in the direction it came from, you see it. And boy is it ugly.
An absurdly large bird skull, the body covered in mummification wrappings, and a large staff at his side.
“Cool. Cool-cool-cool. You were saying about talking to the other gods?” you mumble, trying to ignore the large bird thing.
“Yeah, what’s the worst that could happen?” Marc asks.
“Anger them enough and they’ll imprison me in stone,” the thing -Khonshu- says.
“That doesn’t sound too bad to me,” the man next to you says. You nod in agreement.
“You are very ugly,” you state bluntly.
Evidently unused to people disrespecting him, the god slams his staff on the ground.
“Not many mortals are allowed to even see my form, much less speak to me. It is a blessing.”
“Yes, well, I don’t feel very blessed.”
He turns his attention back to his avatar. “See how well you fare against Harrow without the protection of my healing armor.”
“All right, so what? Do you have any good ideas?”
“I have a bad one.” With that, he disappears.
You glance up, noticing the light dimming. You are met with a solar eclipse. So he can fully move the moon with no regard to its position or that the next eclipse was not for a good while? Huh.
Marc leads you down some stairs, past Khonshu as they talk.
“The gods all have avatars,” he explains. “They’re gathering now, but I don’t know…”
A wall begins to open itself, revealing a tunnel lined with glowing hieroglyphs. “... how to get there,” he finishes.
“I don’t fuck with small, dark, magic tunnels,” you say. “Besides, I don’t think I should join you.”
Marc smiles, visibly nervous. Resting a hand on his shoulder, you shrug.
“You’ll be fine, okay? Meet me here when you’re done, I will wait and see what I can learn about any leads.” It’s the nicest thing you’ve said to him, so he nods, steels his nerves, and heads down the tunnel. As soon as it shuts, you sigh.
“‘Egyptian mythology’,” you whisper to yourself as you type into a search bar. “I guess the black market is a good place to start.”
———————————————————————
You’re wandering through a marketplace when Marc finds you. The Red Room taught you to blend in perfectly, but he manages to spot you when he hears a loud laugh.
In your hand are a drink and a tangerine, which you may or may not have stolen.
“Can you find anything about Senfu’s sarcophagus?” he asks.
“Ouch, no ‘Hi’?” you tease before obliging. As you search with Stark tech assisting you, you glance at Marc. “It didn’t go well.”
“No,” he agrees. “They brought in Harrow, called me crazy, and denied my request.”
“Hmm, some council.” You finally break into a smile, holding your phone flat and projecting your findings. “Mogart. Some black market collector that is conveniently… 24 miles away.”
It takes a while to double-check your intel and find a boat, and the sun has set by the time you’re onboard. Sitting on the end, away from the other groups, Marc watches you, observing the cheerful passengers. A few young girls dance to the loud music, just enjoying the night as you look away.
“You know, I know almost nothing about you,” Marc says.
“I could say the same about you. Other than the file.”
He doesn’t balk at the mention of a debriefing on him, just smirks. “Yeah? Well, you know I work for an Egyptian god, I’ve got a British man living in my head, and the basics. All I know is your name and your-” He gestures at you. “-previous job.”
“You don’t want to know about the Red Room, I promise.” Your smile is a bit bittersweet. “It’s not pretty.”
“My past isn’t either.”
You hum. “The Red Room makes child assassins,” you say, avoiding too much detail. “And… I was cycled through the Black Widow programme three times. I was good at it, too.” That’s all you give up, gauging his reaction.
His gaze softens, not with pity, but with empathy. “How young were you? When you started- The training, I mean.”
The question manages to cause a lump in your throat. This is why you don’t like thinking about it.
You soften the truth when you manage to speak. “I don’t remember a time before it.”
A hand rests on yours. And the two of you sit in silence for a bit, quiet understanding lingering.
“And you?” you say, blinking away the small amount of water building in your eyes. “Did you always work for the bird?”
“No. But I was fighting for a while before I met him. ‘ve done plenty of horrible shit in my life even without him asking me to.”
“And I’ve done horrible things to get out of the Red Room. We have something in common.”
Marc shakes his head. “No, you… you’re out. Hell, you’re working with the Avengers. You’ve made up for it.”
If he knew what you’d done, he wouldn’t be so quick to absolve you. You brush that thought away.
“Well,” you begin, leaning back on the seat. “It’s never too late to start.”
The boat reaches the banks before he can respond or be further distracted by the rings on your hands. Or how your body twists and curves as you quickly jump onto dry land.
“Got an alibi?” you ask, watching Marc stash the duffel bag under the dock.
He hums, shrugging. “A few. Rufino Estrada,” he decides. “What about you?”
“I’m going in as myself. Obviously, not an Avenger, but…” You tie your jacket around your waist, allowing your t-shirt to hide many of your weapons.
On your belt, there are two guns and a handful of knives, but Marc’s eyes are drawn to your wrists. Gauntlets flicker red, electricity in them crackling as you check your weapons.
He speaks after you fire an experimental blast into the ground. “And what’s our story here?”
“You hired me as security, and you are in the business for this sarcophagus. You’re a reputable antiques buyer who previously had ties to Dreykov, the head of the Red Room. I’ve already sent that information ahead.” You flash a charming smile to the man, who still seems a bit on edge. “Mogart made a few small deals with him, so he knows how serious the Widows are. It’s a perfect alibi.”
You two approach a large track, with men jousting under bright lights as music blares from the speakers.
Schooling your expression as you approach a man, you tilt your chin up.
“Where is your boss?” you ask, voice much darker and accented than usual.
“Ma’am-“
“I sent a message earlier. We’re here for the sarcophagus.” The man immediately nods and rushes off as you lead Marc forward. “Don’t drop the act,” you whisper. “Let’s go.”
The guy introduces himself as Bek and guides you toward the track. “He’s excited to meet you. He hasn’t been able to speak to any of the infamous Black Widows after the Red Room fell.”
They were scattered across every continent on Earth, rebuilding their lives. Of course he wouldn’t find them.
“Excuse me a moment. Mr. Mogart will be with you shortly,” Bek says, slipping away.
You lean against the railing, the Widow Bites on your wrists glowing red at the movement.
“So what?” Marc starts. “This joker just puts on El-Mermah games in his backyard for fun?”
You click your tongue. “Ah, who knows? Rich people are weird.”
“Sir, Agent. Come in.” The man, dressed in a dark red robe, greets you with a more than relaxed attitude. “I hear you’re interested in my collection?”
Marc nods. “I hear you have Senfu’s sarcophagus.”
“And who told you that?” This is tedious, you think to yourself. Diplomacy and bargaining, it makes you want to heave.
“The best in the business.” Marc gestures to you.
Mogart seems convinced by this, and you begin to head toward a group of buildings.
“I hope you understand this is more than a collection to me. Preserving history is a responsibility I take very seriously.”
“No one asked you to do that,” you comment mildly, baring your teeth in a sinister grin when he frowns at you. “Yet, here we are.”
Mogart brushes off the thinly veiled insult with a chuckle. “I forgot how deep Widows cut,” he jokes. “How was the old boss before he died? May he rest in peace.”
“Pieces,” you correct, struggling to speak well of the man that previously controlled every aspect of your life. “Helicopter explosion. He… He died powerful and influential. What he would’ve wanted.”
Mogart doesn’t push further, thankfully, coming to a stop in front of a glass pyramid.
“If I may ask, why such interest in Senfu in particular?”
You have a fake reason, but he gestures for Marc to answer. Shit.
“I think that… I just think I would love to take a look,” he says. He’s confident, but it’s an awkward pause.
Mogart concedes. “Funny man. Feel free.”
As you enter the area housing said tomb, you glance at Marc.
“You need to let Steven out. He knows more than either of us and we cannot afford to blow this,” you whisper.
Marc scoffs. “Not a chance. All right, what do you see?”
“The burial practices,” you begin, recalling your research from earlier. “They’re in line with the Studenwachen texts.”
“The what?”
You roll your eyes, exasperated. “Apparently I’m the only one who studied. It means it’s real. But all of this is just instructions to guide the dead.”
“So?”
“No locations indicated.”
Marc glances up at the ceiling, likely listening to Steven. He turns back to you, voice hushed.
“Ok, will you give me a minute? I gotta talk to Steven. Keep him occupied.”
You nod, slipping away with a sigh of relief.
“Mr. Estrada needs some time alone,” you announce, watching said man ramble to himself. “He’s… praying.”
This doesn’t stop Bek, who storms in and grabs Marc’s arm. On instinct, the ex-Marine disarms him, also giving up your cover.
Guns are trained on you in an instant, and you raise your hands.
“Marc!” you shout. He spots you, and for a second you think he’s gonna shoot the guy and leave you to fend for yourself. Instead, he curses and gives up the gun.
“Do you really think I’m an idiot?” Mogart asks. “Get on your knees.”
Marc obliges, and the robed man sneers at you. “I really thought you were a possible ally.” A gun shoved against your neck forces you forward. “I used to be Dreykov’s customer, a friend, even.”
“You think I’d want anything to do with the man who ruined my life?” you laugh. “Dreykov was a coward. And I wish I’d been the one to kill him.”
“Hey-“ Marc steps in. “Take a look inside the sarcophagus. There’s somethin’ really, really big.”
Before Mogart can look, Bek speaks to him in French. You freeze.
“It appears we have a concerned third party here,” he says. “Get up.”
“Harrow,” you mouth to Marc, trying to find the zealot. He stands with two men, leaning on his staff.
“Whatever they’ve told you, I’m sure I can offer something much more tangible.” The scarab floats above his hand. “Why settle for a clue when you can have the treasure?”
Arguing breaks out as Marc snaps at Harrow, who simply turns to each of you. “You all have more in common than you know.”
“(Y/N), you think that ignoring the past will keep it from catching up to you. That missions can give you a purpose, but it’s closing in.”
You’re so taken aback by him knowing your name and reading you so well that you don’t hear another word.
“Do it. Summon the suit,” Khonshu says, appearing on a rooftop. “Give them what they deserve.”
You exchange a glance with Marc, subtly nodding to your gun, and then to the distracted guards.
Meanwhile, Harrow calls on his staff, using it to destroy the sarcophagus. By the time the cultish leader is gone, so is Marc.
Panic starts immediately, and you grin despite being surrounded.
“Well, boys. Looks like you’re in trouble.”
Mogart and Bek run as Marc starts attacking, throwing down curved blades as you grab your gun. Shooting down three guards is easy enough, but more are firing from the track.
“Here!” Marc covers you with his cape, blocking the gunfire in a way you don’t understand.
You catch your breath, looking up where his eyes glow through the suit.
“Can you buy me some time?”
“Absolutely.”
You run to the tomb, grabbing the tattered fabric. When you turn around, you come face to face with Bek.
Thinking fast, you throw shards of glass at his face and kick him in the stomach. He grabs a knife as you dodge his attacks, ducking in time for his knife to land in the mummy.
You take the advantage, slamming the grip of your gun into his nose. He tosses you away to grab the knife, but as he turns around, you fire off a single shot.
A quick death, it could be worse.
Running to the track where Marc is pinned down, you jump the fence. There’s multiple javelins stabbed through him, and you shoot a rider with another ready.
As you aim for the rest, however, you take a blow to the head. You hit the dirt, trying to rise as your vision blurs.
You can hear hoofbeats pounding in your head, only increasing the incoming headache. He’s got a javelin.
“Fuck that hurts,” you mutter, pushing yourself into a sitting position with your gauntlet trained on the figure. Even as Mogart heads for Marc, you don’t waver, especially when he sticks out the weapon to attack you at the last second.
Marc tackles you out of the way, enveloping you as he rolls to safety and tosses a last knife. It doesn’t miss.
Sighing in relief, you let your head flop onto his shoulder as you try to fight off the ache. He pats you on the back as his wounds mend under the suit. A luxury you don’t have.
“There you go. That’s it, deep breaths,” he mumbles, not really sure when you got comfortable enough with each other to sit like this.
He tries his best not to focus on the weight of you leaning on him, trusting him enough to rest, safely tucked in his arms. It feels nice, to have someone trust him like this. Marc hasn’t had that in a long time.
He coughs a bit and you pull away, leaving a cold, exposed feeling where your touch was. Shakily standing, you observe the bodies scattered on the sand.
“We should keep moving,” you say softly. “Don’t want them to catch up.”
Marc can only nod as he fights to keep from reaching for you.
“Yeah. We’ll keep moving.”
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davekat-sucks · 15 days
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The homestuck cafe's menu just reminded me of a great 4/13 story I have! I want to share it for people to read! For one 4/13 that I celebrated, I had a friend who held a party at her house and made a bunch of shots themed for all the trolls, beta kids, alpha kids and the antagonists. The colors of each drink were on point. I made 30 rice krispies treats that were shaped and colored with food dye to look like casey and they were MASSIVE. I brought gushers too! Candy corn?! You think we wouldn't have that shit!?!?! I believe it was the 9th anniversary, no epilogue yet.
We rewatched all the major flashes and only about three of us there actually read the whole story, three read a good chunk of it. We cosplayed too. I was Roxy. Most people who came had no idea what homestuck was and they just talked and drank in the kitchen where the drinks were. Must have been about 20 other people there just watching a few of us cheer and yell at a screen in the living room. Make her pay is my favorite flash, I always get so fucking into it. Make that 8itch pay. We did the whole How Do I Live bit like it was karaoke. The part where Jade enters the game, what a song! Fucking sunsetter played at some point, jamming out to that shit! My favorite! At Cascade I was pointing like crazy at how Sollux sacrificed himself for some ungrateful pieces of shit who don't give a fuck about how he just melted his brains! When Jake died protecting Jane in game over, I was so drunk that I screamed "SHE WOULDN'T DO THE SAME FOR YOOOOU!" My other friend had her meltdown when Tavros was killed "HOW DARE SHE!?" And Collide, what a high! what a let down! GO JAKE KICK ASS! EAT COOKIES! GO KARKAT DO SOMETHING! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!! WHOOOOA! Everyone was screaming for Dad! I was the one screaming shit like "DECAPITATE YOUR BROTHER DAVE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Gamzee is in the fridge and I'm like "BURN IN HELL!" Gotta get a lighter out for when it shows all the beta kids and their homes! Someone is out here yelling "DAVE MARRY ME!" LORD ENGLISH IS STILL ALIVE YOU DIDN'T KILL HIM!!!! DAVE GET YOUR ASS IN THERE AND FIGHT!
I really wish I could have known what it was like to see things from their perspective! What they imagine Homestuck is actually about from that experience. It really must have been like that tiktok. The epic. mac game commentary where a guy is commenting on random objects like a unicorn and someone signing a CD with a pen. We were screaming over good music, digital collages and a story they can't hope to make sense of. No one ever tried to explain anything. It was pure chaos! Homestuck having bullshit moments just to anger people and bring them joy in the form of videos is what we loved about this stupid story! I still love it!
I would feel embarrassed I got so crunk over Homestuck infront of people who were strangers to me but it was their choice to come. They were warned that the experience would be like a fever dream and they came for that! They got to watch a few friends from high school get the band back together then get drunk and high on life! They got to watch people love and hate every single thing happening on screen and yell like we were watching the big game! They got to watch idiots celebrate the best and shittiest webcomic that ever existed! If that is their only experience with homestuck, more power to them.
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rnisa · 2 years
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Death Note characters at an Anime Convention
Light either cosplays as Lelouch Lamperouge or Seto Kaiba
L cosplays as the tired bitch from Watamote (?)
Misa Misa would look good in anything. In fact, she changes her cosplays at least twice throughout the day. She dresses up not as an anime character, but as Tiffy from Chucky (carries around a doll of him, too!)
Near stays in the hotel room because he's too nervous to be in a big crowd, but eventually gets over his fear as long as he's wearing something that conceals his entire self. Probably a fursuit.
Mello doesn't enjoy cosplay or conventions, he just goes for the concerts and getting crunk.
Beyond Birthday cosplayed as L. It made Light very uncomfortable when he saw. Fortunately due to being a massive fucking weirdo, BB manages to get himself kicked out. He sneaks back in, though.
Matsuda has the most fun. He and Misa apply to all of the events (cosplay contest and whatnot) and win one of them. Though they're not a couple, they do "couple cosplays"/just matching because both enjoy being asked for pictures. Matsuda definitely walks out with a few phone numbers but he's too shy to call any of them.
Bonus: Light is absolutely batshit and touches as many random people with the DN as possible. Ryuk is impressing random humans (who look crazy to those who haven't been touched, as they're fawning over and taking pictures of nothing). Ryuk is able to interact with more humans who don't know what he is. Ryuk is very amused and soaking in the popularity.
Many people were convinced there was some acid involved.
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bookclub4m · 1 year
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Episode 170 - Gender Theory & Gender Studies
This episode we’re talking about Gender Theory & Gender Studies! We discuss theory vs studies, memes, feminism, books that should exist but don’t, and more!
You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.
In this episode
Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards
Things We Read (or tried to…)
A Burst of Light by Audre Lorde
Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam
Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano
Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker and Jules Scheele
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G. and J.R. Zuckerberg
Other Media We Mentioned
BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine edited by Lisa Jervis & Andi Zeisler
Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image edited by Ophira Edut
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Female Masculinity by Jack Halberstam
Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers, and the Myth of Equal Partnership by Darcy Lockman
For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
X-Gender, vol. 1 by Asuka Miyazaki
A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson
Feminism is For Everybody by bell hooks
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne
A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World: Writings From The Girl Zine Revolution edited by Karen Green & Tristan Taormino
Links, Articles, and Things
A small sample of Bibliocommons user-curated lists:
Early Feminism Through 1847
Feminist Classics: Third Wave Feminism, the 1990s
Trans Classics: important books about the many trans experiences
Very Short Introductions (Wikipedia)
TERF / FART / “Gender Critical”
Transgender Childhood Is Not a ‘Trend’ by Jules Gill-Peterson
Gill-Peterson is one of 1,000+ contributors to the New York Times who signed an open letter condemning the anti-trans bigotry in their coverage. Read it here.
Hark! Episode 330: Fucking Pie
20 Gender Theory/Studies books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors
Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.
Living a Feminist Life by Sara Ahmed
The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions by Paula Gunn Allen
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa
Decolonizing Trans/Gender 101 by b. binaohan
The Crunk Feminist Collection edited by Brittney Cooper, Susana M. Morris, & Robin M. Boylorn
Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? by Heath Fogg Davis
Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis
Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory by Qwo-Li Driskill
Radicalizing Her: Why Women Choose Violence by Nimmi Gowrinathan
White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks
But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women's Studies by Akasha Gloria Hull
Indigenous Men and Masculinities: Legacies, Identities, Regeneration edited by Robert Alexander Innes and Kim Anderson
Patriarchy Blues: Reflections on Manhood by Frederick Joseph
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa
Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism edited by Bushra Rehman
I'm Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
Give us feedback!
Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!
Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!
Join us again on Tuesday, March 21st when we’ll be talking about the Moving and Management of Books!
Then, on Tuesday, April 4th we’ll be discussing the genre of Domestic Thrillers!
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crazy56u · 1 year
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Well, it’s Halloween, it’s raining, it feels like I’m starting to have chest congestion shit, and things aren’t exactly great all over. A distraction is welcome.
Okay Ben, you made it seven episodes so far, congratulations. Your prize is The Exorcist.
What if it turns out Ben leapt in the same day Sam was in Coventry?
The only good priests are from Baltimore. Big if true.
Addison, jump scares are to fiction what the dab is to modern society, knock it off.
Okay, this is less The Exorcist and more Clue.
Okay, two minutes in, Ziggy is talking about exorcisms, fuck me up buttercup?
“Water closet”. Okay, so, what, 1930s? That’s where we are?
“Exorcisms aren’t real.” Ben, you’re in the world of Quantum Leap. Ghosts, angels, Bigfoot, aliens, psychics and (according to Sam Beckett) telekinesis are real.
Seriously, that kid’s face scaring makes me think this legitimately is meant to be the world of The Exorcist.
And seven episodes in, we have our first cast of “Someone can see Ben as Ben”.
“The exorcist and the demon fight for the soul of the possessed.” TONIGHT, ON MONDAY NIGHT RAW-
“Okay, what now?” “You got a Bible. Get to Bibling.”
And now the hologram technology’s getting fucky. Tell all sign of real ghost shit.
And Addison is on mute.
JUMPSCARE
Oh no, the demon’s from Supernatural!
I half expected Ian to be hiding under a table.
And the cat people portion of the audience pop the fuck off.
“Sam Beckett believed God was guiding his leaps, and that telekinesis is real. That guy was fucked up.”
“Father? The Doctor’s here.” And then David Tennant enters the room-
Ben legitimately thought he was about to score drugs.
Okay, so there’s the rub: “Look, Mr. Priest, I’m a fucking doctor, let me healthcare the problem away.”
...you’re gonna fucking lobotomize the demon.
“Joan of Arc was only 17 when she lead the French army to victory.” Counterpoint: she probably had some form of seizure, and she was slightly mentally unstable, hence why she “heard” the voice of God. Ball’s in our court.
“The wall paper moved.” Well, given the pattern of the wallpaper, you probably were just tripping.
Okay, is this girl super versed in the Bible, or is the demon playing Dr. Jekyll?
“How is she?” “Possessed?”
Called it, 1930s.
“Look, it’s the Great Depression, here’s tequila. Get crunk, Father.”
Okay, now play Hot Cross Buns.
Ma’am, I’m from 2022, maybe stay away from Hollywood.
...is the plot twist going to be the mom boinked a demon?
“It’s locked!” Okay. Break it down.
And the body count begins!
“Look, Mr. Doctor, I’m from 2022, my medical knowledge outweighs yours.”
“To know is science.” So, if you know anything, you automatically know all the science ever.
“What a scoop! A corpse!”
Ian, stay away from a poker table. You have a shit poker face.
“Look, I think the solution to the ghost shit is Reddit.” “Ian, that is the most hateful thing you have ever said.”
“Never been a gin guy.” “Well, I drank all the tequila. Get fucked.”
“Are you a priest or a constable?” Okay, I’m starting to suspect you, now.
What is this fish eye warble vision
So, the Great Depression is the real antagonist here. The ghosts of bad economics and Hoover’s bullshit.
“I’ll go see her, I’m a doctor-” “Get fucked, bitch boy, it’s Father Priest’s turn.”
Uh oh, the demon’s channeling Donald Duck.
“The demon isn’t real.” Ben, you fucking balls of steel to fucking say that at this point in the fucking episode.
...is the demon now a gorilla?
THE CEILING IS OUT FOR REVENGE!
Okay, Ben screaming bloody murder before cutting to a calm room is literally the same as the Paul Rudd GIF: “OH SHIT! ... I’m fine.”
...why would you waste a fish in this economy?
“Gives new meaning to the term ‘red herring’.” If this were a sitcom, we would be rolling credits.
I love how they are trying to act like this is Scooby Doo shit, when we have seen multiple times that there’s proof that we are dealing with real fucking demons.
Okay, all this spooky shit is getting too much, time for a break.
And now Ben is talking to himself / the audience.
“I think I might have to actually try and perform an exorcism?” And the last horse crosses the finish line.
“Oh, wait, my reflection’s a priest, I can do this. Good talk.”
And the first step to any good exorcism? Gin.
And now we’re legitimately in The Exorcist.
I love to see how they try and explain away the floating girl.
Don’t lick your teeth like that, what the fuck is wrong with you
...is Ben now possessed?
Why is Ben in the White Hot Room
“Where am I?” In a coma. Wake up.
Get the fuck out of here, are you literally telling me this IS fucking Clue?! THEY HAVE BEEN TRIPPING THE FUCK OUT ON POISONED FOOD?!
"How did they kill Aunt Tessa?” With the hammer.
Okay, good, you solved the mystery, wake up now.
Ben, wakey wakey
This is now also fucking Scooby Doo.
“Father? How did it go?” “I am not afraid to kick all of your fucking asses right now.”
Uh oh, cake stab.
“Are you saying Mr. Charles was the killer?” Interesting how you are flip flopping between demons and real killers, ma’am.
Jim Something: Master of All Poison
[Annnnnnd there’s the first Christmas commercial I have seen this year. WAIT UNTIL THE DAY AFTER FUCKING THANKSGIVING, YOU ASSHOLES.]
“The Great Depression was... ...what they are calling this period of time, now.”
...so, are we gonna explain the face scars?
Okay, so, name of the game: Fake the girl’s death, first one to break character is the poisoner.
And now Ben is channeling every fake ghost detecting psychic person.
And now she’s channeling the Undertaker.
“OKAY, I ADMIT IT, I KILLED SOMEONE AND POISONED PEOPLE, BUT THERE’S REAL DEMONS HERE!”
And now all of the dirty laundry is coming out.
And now you made the girl cry. Eat shit.
Daisy has the patience of a saint. If I was Daisy, I would be flipping them all off.
“The exorcist wins.” I wish Ben pumped his fist after saying this...
Let me guess: Janis was piggybacking off of the Imaging Chamber, and that’s why it conked out?
CALLED IT
And Ben’s reward for surviving The Exorcist? Blur - Song 2
Stealing a car to escape military school. Only in America.
Final Thoughts: I hate how I predicted the Clue twist immediately. Other than that, 10/10.
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crmsnmth · 1 month
Text
September Sky Chapter One, Part 9
There was always someone here, but it was rarely busy. Today was no different. A man sat alone by himself, watching a dusty and old TV. It was little weird to see someone watching Jeopardy! with no sound. To each their own, I guess. At one of the tables, a small group of what looked like frat guys sat, drinking from a pitcher. I could only assume they were the ones playing some kind of that short-lived 'crunk rap' song. You know what I mean. The stuff Lil Jon made. No one else would play that kind of garbage on a Tuesday evening. Finally, a guy was playing one of the pinball machines while a tiny bird-like girl stood next to him and watched intently.
The bartender came up to Addison and I. He was maybe late 30's, early 40's. But like, really well taken care of. He put both hands on the bar as he spoke with a voice of pure gravel and grit.
"What'll it be?"
"Just a Pabst," Addison said politely.
"High Life,"
He nodded and went off to grab the two beers. I threw a twenty on the bar.
"So it really doesn't freak you out?" Addison asked, as the bartender sat a can in front of her and a glass bottle in front of me.
"What?" I said, taking a drink from the cold beer. It tasted to good, and that meant if I continued drinking, I would end the night very very drunk. And I couldn't do that.
"The mortician thing." She turned the can around a little bit, just fidgetting.
"Not at all. It interests me. I've never met someone who wanted to go into the funeral sciences. I mean, look at me. I work hard to get that freshly dead corpse look. I gotta know though, how does one decide on that for their future?" I scanned the bar. One of the frat boys was getting another pitcher. The couple in back had switched spots, with the girl playing now.
"I don't know. I guess I've always just been drawn to death," she laughed loudly. The man watching the silent TV gave us a look.
"What do you mean? Like you want to die or just death in general?"
"I mean, death is something we all go through. So why not make it part of your life? Maybe this way, when my time is up, I'll be ready for it."
"You say it like that, it sounds like you're going to the punch death right in the face. I mean, I totally support violence on the Grim Reaper."
Addison laughed, causing the man to look again, a minor look of irritation on his face. Four years ago, I would have started something with him. Now, the only option I was comfortable with was ignoring it.
"So what about you? What are you in for?" She asked, taking a drink out of her can.
"Nothing anymore. I officially ended my college career today. I'm a drop out. But I was in as an English major, with a focus on creative writing." I said.
"How come you dropped it? If it's not a sore spot, I mean." There was genuine curiosity in those eyes.
"No, it's all good. I just didn't want to be there anymore. I don't like people all that much, and being surrounded by strangers all the time isn't that good for my mental state. Plus, I fucking hated it there. The whole experience was anxiety inducing and I've just had enough," I said, shrugging, trying to make it sound like nothing major. It wasn't just because I didn't want to be there anymore. I couldn't be there anymore. "Did I mention I really disliked it?"
"But then why go at all? Seems kind of pointless."
"Family pressure, I guess. I didn't want to ever see a classroom again after high school, but both my mom, my dad and my stepmom all harped on me to go. That whole 'you have potential' bullshit. Basically, I went to appease a family I don't really like all that much."
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thesinglesjukebox · 5 months
Text
DOECHII - WHAT IT IS (BLOCK BOY)
youtube
What It Is (Solo Version) (Sped Up) (Slowed Down) (Blurbed)
[6.42]
Michelle Myers: If you need a reminder of how times have changed, consider that the Atlanta rap group Trillville reached #14 on the Billboard charts in 2005. Their biggest hit, "Some Cut," is a crunk-adjacent trunk-blaster with nasty lyrics and enough funk in the beat to have sounded retro back then. Doechii's adroit reclamation of Trillville's iconic "what it is, ho?" hook over a "No Scrubs" sample feels powerful but never preachy. [8]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: This shouldn't work. By all indications, this is a crass gambit for pop crossover status, a promising rapper gluing together nostalgic samples and appending a guest verse from a noxious shithead who has nevertheless been one of the more consistent hitmakers in rap over the last half-decade. There's even a very silly EP of all the different "versions" of the song, featuring sped-up and slowed-down versions but no actual remixes. But "What It Is" isn't... that crass? For one, Kodak Black is no longer present, his middling guest verse and altogether awful vibes excised from the version of the track that actually gets rap radio play. And regardless of the version, Doechii is too good at her job to let this suck. While I prefer her more in rage or boom bap modes, she's still as stylish as ever, playing the role of pop-rap icon with enough poise that she might as well stay there as long as she can. [7]
Crystal Leww: "What It Is" feels like a relic from an era that doesn't exist anymore. It's when R&B-pop songs with a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure with a guest rap verse could be genuine pop hits. It's from a time when artists could hit the 8-count -- hell, when music was made for an 8-count. It's a song about a crush that's bright rather than fucked up -- a feeling so light that it's like floating along the clouds. [7]
Katherine St Asaph: That Kandi/She'kspere sample has as much instant impact as it did the first time round in the '90s. But wow, you can really tell how incomplete this sounds without the Kodak Black verse that shouldn't have existed in the first place. [6]
Nortey Dowuona: This is just "Some Cut" but sung and including a mediocre Kodak Black verse. (Another thing he and Kendrick have in common?) The beat is thin and barely has a melody -- two piano chords under a pelting synth line and drums that are so spaced out they barely connect. I don't think any of these pieces gel into an actual song. Don't even know what Doechii is doing here -- this doesn't establish her as an artist, and the only good line isn't hers ("being black in America is the hardest thing to be"). What was so wrong with "Crazy"? At least "Crazy" actually banged -- this can't even cohere enough to suck. [4]
Brad Shoup: This would have been a passé chart ploy in 2009--a nod at crunk over some frothy pop-R&B. But now that I'm old I'm happy to hear both. [7]
Will Adams: Appealing in the way that any modern R&B-pop song that throws back to She'kspere is. Congrats to everyone who wished for a Kodak Black-free version. [6]
Leah Isobel: Doechii's timbre here is a little abrasive -- not unpleasantly so. She's tough, sharp. But she's not laid-back; she barrels through the track instead of working inside it, which is interesting given that both of the samples come from songs with a much more relaxed kind of energy. Of course, it's not like this beat is particularly relaxed either. It might be boxing her in. [7]
Rose Stuart: Fluffy pop flair limits Doechii's fire-cracker charm, keeping her from exuding her energy in the same way that made "Crazy" so visceral and alive. However, the discordant ringtone rap-esque beat is enough to keep things interesting. [5]
Ian Mathers: I really thought this might be the first year where the Jukebox didn't give me the genuinely lovely feeling I get when I hit play on a song I think I don't know and discover I've already heard and enjoyed it. But even in 2023, where it felt like I barely left the apartment, I heard this one out at least a couple of times. I'm not sure if that's inescapability or just luck. I do dimly recall there being some other element to this one, but oh well; whatever it is, I don't miss it. [7]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Every line here can be memorized within a few listens, which means that any time it comes on, you can sing along to a series of hooks upon hooks. Doechii makes it look easy, too, as if inviting you to join in. No other single this year felt as generous. Hell, she even got rid of Kodak. [7]
Taylor Alatorre: In an attempt to provide the most controversial reasoning possible for the most un-controversial rating possible, I will say this: every generation gets the "All Summer Long" that it deserves. And since "All Summer Long" is a solid [6], I see no reason to rule any differently here. [6]
[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]
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imagidreaming · 2 years
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Gonzo the Great's Great Cannonball Coaster
The outside of the attraction is just an impossible roller coaster. A big cannon shoots Muppets in coaster cars out onto a track that, fuck it, spells out the title of the ride in cursive! Ha! It's the world's first G ticket attraction!
The story is this is the first big Muppet ride and if it's a smash hit, they'll get a whole land devoted to em!
You get into line and there's a series of different videos hyping up the UNVEILING OF THIS RIDE! That's right, it's always launch day! One vid is like a travel channel style one where Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (& Beaker, to a lesser degree) offer an explanation for the, again, impossible physics of the daredevil, Gonzo the Great's daring new ride! Another is Pepe and Rizzo as influencers checking out the façade of the ride and speculating how it's gonna be, some good gags with drone footage. Another? A Defunctland style video essay about Gonzo's previous failed stunts hosted by Walter. Another? Stadler & Waldorf doing a video podcast where they talk about how much of a failure the ride is gonna be. Just a couple guys being dudes.
The last part of the queue is Joe the Legal Weasel rambling off all the bad things that could happen to you if you ride it and that they are not liable! Ok! Enjoy it! Bye!
You board what looks like a coaster car and it tick tick ticks ya along until you get to what looks like the inner rim of that cannon from outside. Here we goooo!
Whoops! Crunk dunk! It goes wrong! It backfires, literally and sends you careening backwards, breaking through walls and it becomes a trackless vehicle dark ride through the backstage area! You crash through/accidentally ride, prototypes of attractions that would be coming to Muppetland.
Think Simpsons ride but sliiightly less nakedly cynical and significantly less shitty.
Treasure Island = Pirates of the Caribbean
Miss Piggy's Tea Party = Teacups and you just KNOW there's a Kermit sipping tea gag in there, henny!
Swedish Chef Sing-Along Smorgasbord = Food Rocks
Honeydew & Beaker's Test Lab = Test Track
Uncle Deadly's Uniquely Dreary Dungeon = Haunted Mansion
Sam the Eagles Tribute to All Nations (But Mostly America) = Hall of Presidents/American Adventure
Happiness Hotel = Tower of Terror
Na'vi River Journey but they're made of felt!
Then you land on a treadmill with a dingy little screen with POV footage of a roller coaster being projected on it in front of it. A big middle finger to screen rides!
Electric Mayhem = Rockin' Rollercoaster sends us home!
Ya end up back on the "real" track with some fire hoops and chicken coops and a big "ta-da" form Gonzo! Kermit's like, let him work the kinks out and come back and see us, again!
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monkey-network · 6 years
Video
Ugggggggghhhmmm’kay *pops a bottle* So.
The saurce. I don’t know. enjoy...
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homoose · 3 years
Text
Love Has a Learning Curve: Part III (x reader)
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Summary: Spencer has to face Anita and Sam— and learns a little about reader’s past. Reader and Spencer babysit for Michael and Henry. 
Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader
Category: fluff, a tiny smidge of hurt/comfort
Warnings/Includes: implied smut, drinking/alcohol, vague mentions of previous emotional/mental abuse (Owen)
Word count: 4.2k
a/n: This picks up right after the end of the tmsidk epilogue! I also worked two requests in here.
Series Masterlist
———
Spencer stacked the last of the tiny chairs in the center of the room, stepping back and dusting his palms on his trousers. He looked over to see Y/N playing a sort of container tetris with the bins of supplies in her closet. He smiled a little to himself, his head still in the metaphorical clouds with her confession of love. 
She maneuvered the bins to her satisfaction and shut the closet doors, pushing against them to squeeze everything in until the latch clicked. She turned to see him watching her and wiped imaginary sweat from her brow. She gave him a wink and a grin, and he was falling all over again. 
She perched on the corner of her desk with a tired sigh, and he made his way across the room to her. She reached for him as soon as he was within arms length, wrapping her arms around his middle. She snuggled into his chest, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Let’s go to dinner to celebrate.”
She laughed and looked up at him. “Celebrate what?”
He shrugged. “You. Summer.” He brought his arms around her shoulders. “Love.”
She smiled and scrunched her nose at him. “You just want me to say it again.”
His lips twitched. “Maybe.”
Her hands came to rest on his hips, her fingers squeezing lightly. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he answered immediately and rather dreamily. 
“Yo, Y/L/N!” 
The call of her name from the hallway startled them both. Anita began to step over the threshold, continuing, “You ready to get absolutely crunk tonight or— oh.” She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes tracking Spencer’s frame. “Dr. Reid.”
Spencer stepped back from Y/N, smiling a little awkwardly at the formality and giving a wave. “Mrs. Lopez. It’s, um— it’s nice to see you again.”
Anita hummed noncommittally, and Spencer shoved his hands in his pockets. She turned her attention back to Y/N. “So, are we going out or what?”
Y/N groaned. “Anita, I’m exhausted. Can we keep it low key? Oh!” Her eyes lit up with an idea, and Spencer could already see where this was going. “Spence and I were gonna get dinner to celebrate, um— summer. Call Sam; we’ll all just go together.”
Anita spared a glance in Spencer’s direction before sighing heavily. “Fine. But I’m drinking.” With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared back into the hallway.
Y/N chuckled. “I swear she’s not actually an alcoholic.” Her eyes landed on Spencer’s face, and she smiled gently. “I know you weren’t expecting a Meet the Friends night, but it’ll be fun.”
“She hates me,” Spencer surmised.
“She does not hate you.” Y/N stood from the desk, pressed a reassuring peck to his lips. “She’s just… protective. That’s all.”
Y/N was entirely wrong. Anita Lopez hated him. That was the only explanation for her absolutely icy demeanor. 
They’d met up with her and Sam at a Mexican restaurant in Tenleytown. Sam was wonderfully kind and funny, even apologizing for having “flipped him the bird” the last time she saw him. And it was a good thing Sam was being friendly, because Anita was decidedly… less so. 
Spencer understood completely of course. He’d broken Y/N’s heart. Penelope had been ready to hunt her down at the mere thought of him being hurt. As Y/N’s best friend, Anita had every right to be wary of him. She had every right to hate him. He’d just... hoped that she wouldn’t. 
Thankfully, Y/N and Sam were more than happy to carry the conversation— he and Anita chiming in here and there. He learned that Sam worked as an attorney at a firm specializing in family law. She and Anita had two kids, Riley and Sidney— one in 2nd grade and the other in preschool. 
“Y/N is still Riley’s favorite teacher ever,” Sam told him. “I mean, it helps when she’s also your aunt, I guess.”
“He didn’t get any special treatment,” Y/N insisted. At Sam’s raised eyebrow, she laughed. “Okay, maybe a little special treatment. But you raised a good kid! And I can’t help it that he was the most trustworthy of the bunch.”
“Oh my god, the field trip,” Sam groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. 
“The field trip!” Y/N turned to Spencer. “My group of kiddos from two years ago— they were kind of a tough group.”
“Kind of?” Anita squeaked. “Let me just tell you, I can hear them through the floor. The entire middle school is literally dreading the day they make it upstairs.”
Sam piped in, “I chaperoned on said field trip to the zoo. And I vowed that I will never, ever go on another field trip. Ever.”
“What happened?” Spencer asked incredulously. 
“So many things,” Sam baited. 
Y/N covered her mouth to stifle a cackle, leaning a bit into Spencer’s shoulder. He couldn’t help but smile, looking around at the three women. Even Anita was chuckling, and she’d barely cracked a smile all evening. 
“Okay, so many things happened,” Y/N started, “but the worst was—”
“The poop!” Sam wheezed. “The poop was the worst part of that day. The smell alone, oh my god.”
Y/N composed herself as best she could, gesturing over the table. “So after this nightmare of a day, we get on the bus, and there’s this— smell.”
“The absolute worst smell you’ve ever smelled, Spencer,” Sam assured. 
“It’s awful. It’s so bad,” Y/N agreed. “And I’m literally going seat to seat, checking to make sure no one has shit themselves.”
“You could not pay me enough,” Anita chimed in. 
“And I get to the seat that is very clearly where the smell is coming from. And I can’t, like— hold my nose, right? I don’t want to embarrass him!” Y/N turned to Spencer with flushed cheeks. “So I ask, ‘Sweetheart, did you have a bathroom accident?’”
Spencer let out a nervous laugh. “Oh no.” 
“But oh, it wasn’t a bathroom accident,” Y/N clarified, waving her hand. “No, no— that would be too easy. This child had somehow managed to obtain copious amounts of poop from one of the zoo animals and packed it into his lunchbox to take home.”
Spencer could feel his jaw drop. “Oh my god.”
“So, he unzips his lunchbox and it’s just— overflowing with shit.” Y/N dropped her head into her hands, overcome with giggles. 
“And don’t forget the worst part: his mom was on the field trip!” Sam lamented, throwing her hands up. “I will never understand.”
Y/N lifted her head with an exasperated grin, and he wasn’t sure if it was the story or the fact that she loved him, but Spencer felt like he could float away into outer space. 
“I told you I had a lot of poop stories,” Y/N reminded him, drawing another round of laughs. As they composed themselves, the waiter came by their table to clear some of their plates and refill their water.
“God, I said we were keeping it low key, and then I drank half a pitcher,” Y/N complained, pushing back from the table. “I’m just gonna go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” 
She gave Spencer a reassuring smile, and he tried not to panic as she stood and left him with Sam and Anita. And because the universe was toying with him, at that exact moment, Sam’s phone began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket with a sigh. 
“Shit— I’ve been waiting on this call all day.” She kissed Anita’s cheek and stood from the table. “So sorry; I’ll just be five minutes, I promise.”
With that, it was just the two of them, staring intently at their water glasses. Spencer was certain he should say something, but he wasn’t sure what. Anita broke the silence first. 
“You know what’s annoying?”
Spencer wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “Considering that the issues one might classify as an annoyance vary for each individual person, there are over seven billion potential answers to that question.”
Anita tilted her head with an unimpressed purse of her lips. Spencer hedged, “And I understand now that it was probably rhetorical.”
“I actually kind of like you.” She leaned across the table with an irritated sigh. “I wanted to hate you, but I don’t.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m, um— I’m glad to hear that.”
“You’re good for her. Smart, humble, kind. Enamored with her, as you should be,” she deadpanned. She dropped her chin into her hand. “Almost as hot as she is.”
He laughed a little at that. “Thank you?”
“You’re welcome.” She dropped her hand back to the table. She still didn’t crack a smile, and her gaze bore into him. “I don’t know how much you know about Owen, and she’d probably kill me for saying anything. But he was a real piece of shit.”
This was not the direction he thought this conversation would take. He didn’t know anything about Owen; he’d tried not to think too much about anyone Y/N might have been with before him. 
“It didn’t start out that way.” She drew her brows together. “Well, I don’t know— maybe he was always an asshole, and he was just good at hiding it.”
She shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “The point is, I didn’t know he was treating her like garbage until it was too late. He was already all…” She gestured wildly around her head. “In her head, telling her lies about herself, fucking her up, isolating her. For years he did that. And then it took her years to get him out of her head. To— unlearn all the lies. To build herself back up.” 
He could see her grinding her teeth, trying to calm down. He was intensely grateful to not be on the receiving end of Anita’s wrath. He was also immensely glad that Y/N had a friend like that. And his blood absolutely boiled at the thought of her ever feeling anything less than adored. 
“You’re a fed or whatever, so I shouldn’t be telling you this,” she continued, “but I would love nothing more than to put that fucker six feet under.” She ran her hand through her hair, and when she continued her voice was the quietest he’d ever heard it. “All that to say, I… I wasn’t there for her when Owen was destroying her from the inside out. And I will never let that happen again.” 
Anita locked eyes with him and her voice was resolved. “I like you, Spencer. And I want to keep it that way. So, just— don’t give me a reason not to.”
She didn’t drop her gaze, and he couldn’t quite think of the appropriate response. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. His brain was still fixated on the idea that anyone had ever hurt the loveliest and kindest woman he’d ever met.
“Where’s Sam?” Spencer turned just as Y/N slid back into the chair beside him, a comforting hand coming to rest on his knee. 
“Some bullshit from the office that her idiot partner can’t handle.” Anita raised her eyebrows at Spencer, and he nodded minutely. She shifted her gaze back to Y/N with a grin. “Don’t worry. I didn’t scare him too much.”
“Easy.” Spencer steadied Y/N with a hand on her waist as they made the way up the stairs to his apartment. 
“Jesus, I’m so sorry. I just— really can’t drink like I used to.” She clutched a little at the railing, and he held his breath until they were at the top of the stairs. 
He slipped an arm back around her waist as they crossed to his apartment door, fumbling with his keys and fighting back a shiver as she snuggled close and ran her hand low over his tummy. 
“Can’t believe I’m tipsy from a couple margaritas.”
“To be fair, you had four,” he chuckled, turning the key and pushing open the door. 
“Okay, okay,” she relented. “But I used to be able to have a whole pitcher and be totally fine.”
“A pitcher?” Spencer laughed as he locked the door and turned to face her. “I can’t even have one without being completely incapacitated.”
She ran her hands up from his waistband, over his chest, and wrapped them around his neck. “Mmm, so you’re a lightweight.”
“Very much so,” he confirmed, bringing his hands to her hips. 
“Just one more sweet thing to love about you, sugar.” 
He couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across his face at the endearment, the way that North Carolina dripped syrupy and thick over every syllable. She pulled him down to meet her in a sweet kiss, quickly deepening it as he dug his fingers into the softness of her hips. Her hands wound into his hair, tugging lightly and holding him close. 
He broke away to rest his forehead against hers and catch his breath. She laced their fingers together and leaned on him while she kicked off her shoes. He toed his own off and then allowed her to lead him toward his bedroom. 
She sat him down on the edge of the bed and straddled his lap, bringing her hands up to tangle in his curls once again. 
Before she could lean in for another kiss, he murmured, “I’ve been thinking.”
“Sounds dangerous,” she teased, ghosting her lips over his.
“Ha, ha.” Part of him wanted to bring up Owen, but she was so happy and warm and comfortable in this moment. He didn’t want to ruin this night of celebration. He didn’t want to ruin this day that had been so full of love. They had plenty of time to discuss Owen. 
He wrapped his arms around her middle. “You’ve met Penelope. I’ve met Anita. Now that the school year is over… we could tell Michael.”
She pulled back, and the smile she gave him could only be described as radiant, and he knew he made the right decision. “He’s gonna lose his mind.”
A week later, the pair of them were strolling up the sidewalk to the LaMontagne house. Will and JJ were long overdue for a date night, and Spencer had jumped at the opportunity for the two of them to babysit. When they reached the door, Spencer rang the bell and Y/N waited slightly behind him. 
They could hear the joy from behind the door before it even opened, Michael’s high pitched giggle and Will’s booming laugh. Spencer was already leaning down in preparation, and Michael absolutely launched into his arms as soon as the door swung open. Spencer clocked the moment that Michael spotted her, purely because he practically squealed and squirmed right out of Spencer’s grip. 
“I knew it!” Michael cried. 
He wrapped himself around Y/N’s legs and squeezed tightly, and she rubbed a hand over his hair with a bewildered smile. Michael broke away to turn back to Will with a grin. “I told you.”
“You did, buddy.” Will gave Spencer a lopsided smile as Michael tugged Y/N forward by the hand. “Michael had an… inklin’ that uncle Spencer might be friends with Ms. Y/L/N.”
“Not friends, Daddy,” Michael said exasperatedly. “He’s her boyfriend.”
“Oh, excuse me, sorry.” Will held his hands up in apology as he stepped aside to let them all in the door. “Michael had a feelin’ that uncle Spencer might be Ms. Y/L/N’s boyfriend.”
Y/N’s cheeks had turned a very pretty shade of pink. “What— um, what made you think that?” 
Michael waited patiently for her to take off her shoes. “Well firstly, he started picking me up all the time, which was nice but weird. And then he wouldn’t stop asking about you. It was kind of annoying.” Spencer made a choking sound, and Will stifled a laugh. 
“You guys wear the same shoes, and you both love Halloween and tea and reading. I knew you’d like him if he could be a guest reader.” As he led her into the living room, Michael continued, “Oh, and you wore his purple scarf. He doesn’t let anyone wear the purple scarf.”
Spencer vividly remembered that morning— she’d slept over after a midweek date night in April. The temperatures in DC had plummeted overnight, and the outfit she’d brought left her woefully under-dressed for the chilly spring day. He’d wrapped her up in the soft, purple scarf without a second thought. 
She caught his eye with a shrug, and Will tried not to look too smug. Spencer watched her be dragged further into the house, turning to Will with a sheepish smile.
“Well, guess I can’t take all the credit,” Will decided. “Who knew we had a mini matchmaker this whole time?”
Spencer huffed out a laugh as Michael pulled Y/N into the playroom. “This is the best,” Michael sighed. “Now we can play restaurant forever.”
Spencer pulled his legs up in the tiny chair, resting his elbows on his knees and taking a moment to watch the scene in front of him unfold. Usually on nights like this, Michael ran him ragged with demands for magic tricks, story time, and playing pretend. Tonight, he’d actually been able to catch up with middle school (middle school!) Henry, because Michael was totally and completely enthralled by Y/N. 
She was helping with the last of the setup for the “restaurant,” organizing Michael’s menus and straightening his clip-on tie. Of course he’d seen her with kids before. But something about being in this playroom— one that he’d spent so many hours in, watching two of his favorite kids grow up— had him feeling warm from head to toe. 
Henry had bounded down the stairs at the news that uncle Spencer was dating his former kindergarten teacher. He hadn’t realized that she’d taught Henry, too, although with the timeline of her teaching career he should have put two and two together. The generally reserved middle schooler had positively beamed when she gasped out, “Gosh, I always forget how tall you’ve gotten!”
And now three of his absolute favorite humans were in one room, and he couldn’t stop smiling. 
“Hen!” Michael called. 
Henry turned from his spot in the chair across from Spencer. “What?”
“You’re the chef,” Michael informed him. 
Y/N tilted her head. “I thought I was the chef?”
“No, no, no.” Michael pushed her toward the kid-sized table. “You and uncle Spencer are on a fancy date.”
Henry rolled his eyes playfully and stood from the chair, pulling it out for her like a perfect gentleman. She beamed at him and gave him a wink. “Thank you, sir.”
She dropped lightly into the chair across from Spencer and laughed a little at his folded limbs. “You look very comfortable.” 
He laughed and stretched his legs out straight. “The picture of comfort, really. These chairs were clearly designed with six foot men in mind.”
“I’m sorry I’m so under-dressed for our fancy dinner date,” she teased, dropping her chin into her hand. 
“You look stunning, as always.” He gestured to the messy braid Michael had folded her hair into. “I especially love what you’re doing with your hair.”
She sucked in a dramatic breath, bringing up her hand to pat lightly at her hair. “You’re making me blush, doctor.” She peeked behind her and then lowered her voice. “I’m probably going to cry when I try to brush the rats out.” 
He looked at her sympathetically. “I know the feeling. I think I’ve got a wide tooth comb, and I can help. I’ve gotten pretty good at detangling Michael’s handiwork.”
Before she could respond, Michael made his way to the table, holding a dish towel over his arm. “Good evening, sir, madam.” 
“Good evening,” they chorused, with barely suppressed grins. 
“Compliments of the chef.” Michael held out his hand to reveal two slightly smushed strawberries.
“Oh, wow,” Y/N said, eyes wide and gesturing to Spencer. “Honey, do you want to—”
Spencer waved his hand, eyeing the berries warily. “No, no, please, help yourself.”
Y/N held back a smile and accepted the strawberries, holding them carefully in her hand and turning her attention back to Michael. “Thank you so much. What a wonderful appetizer. Could we hear the specials?”
That helped Michael remember the menus, and he pulled them from his pocket and cleared his throat. He handed them the construction paper menus. “Our specials tonight are roasted octopus and a steak tartar.”
From the kitchen, Henry mumbled, “Tartare.” 
“Tartare. Steak tartare is our special,” Michael corrected. 
“Hmm, I don’t know if I’m that adventurous. Maybe my boyfriend is though,” Y/N told a grinning Michael. “What do you recommend for a picky eater?”
“My favorite is the chicken nuggets.”
“Well then, sign me up. One order of chicken nuggets.” Y/N handed him the menu. 
Spencer was still perusing the menu for Le Chateau LaMontagne. He smiled at Michael’s handwriting, but particularly at the places where he could tell Y/N had helped. “Everything looks delicious,” he finally decided, “but, you know... I think I’m also going to have the nuggets.”
When the boys were finally in bed, Spencer and Y/N settled down in the living room to untangle the mess of her hair. She sat on the floor in between his legs as he gently pulled each braid strand free. He smiled at the way she arched up into his touch, shivering when his fingers brushed over her neck. 
“You’re lucky,” he remarked, laying the last braid strand back into its original place. “Michael seems to have gotten a little better at braiding.”
She leaned her head back into his hands. “You detangled the whole thing?”
“Mmhm.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead, then her nose, then her mouth. She brought her hands up to hold him against her, trying to deepen the kiss before laughing at the awkward angle and giving up. 
He sat up as she stood and moved to the couch, snuggling up close to him and tucking herself under his arm. “I’m very lucky,” she agreed. “For many reasons.”
Her hand drifted to rest on his tummy, her fingers immediately tracing little shapes over the fabric of his shirt. He pressed a kiss into her hair. “And tired, too.”
“Hmm?” 
He leaned his cheek against her head. “When you get tired, you, um— you start drawing on my stomach.” 
Her finger paused. “Do I?”
“Yeah.” She shifted to raise her head to look at him, and he shrugged. “I don’t mind. I’ve just— noticed.”
She smiled a little sleepily. “You know I love all of you. But I— well, I don’t know, really. I just like your tummy.” She gave it a quick squeeze. “It’s just— nice and comfy and perfect for resting on.” 
He covered her hand with his own and leaned forward to press their mouths together. She drew his bottom lip in between her own, sucking a little and then giving it a quick peck before pulling back and stifling a yawn into his chest. “Man, I am tired.” She snuggled back into him and resumed her tummy tracing. “What, um— what else have you noticed?”
He rubbed his hand down her arm and pulled her impossibly closer. “You like to play with my hair.”
“Mmmm, guilty as charged.”
He smiled at the sleep creeping into her voice. “I like it, too.” He ran his fingers up to her shoulder, and then back down to the crook of her arm, soothing her closer to sleep. “Hmmmm. You always have at least one point of contact on my body at all times. It’s usually your hands, but sometimes it’s your head or even your toes— like when you tuck them under my leg.”
“Ugh— I’m sorry. Clingy and putting my feet on you,” she mumbled.
She might have been joking, but Anita’s words were replaying in his head. He couldn’t change what had happened in the past. He couldn’t go back and prevent her from being hurt by someone else. But he could be different in every way. He could be open and honest and vulnerable with her like he’d promised. 
“I’m not sorry. I love all of you,” he murmured, pulling her in closer and repeating her words back to her. 
“Even my feet?” 
He could also show her that there was absolutely nothing that he didn’t love about her. “Especially your feet.”
She huffed a sigh into his chest. “Y’got a foot thing I don’t know about?”
He laughed a little at that. “Only for yours. They’re very cute feet.”
“You’re weird,” she muttered, but she hugged him tighter when she said it.
“You love it.”
Her fingers on his tummy had come to rest comfortably just above his waistband, and he knew she was on the very edge of sleep. “Mmhm. Love you.”
He thought of all the little moments over the past few months.
Doesn’t live up to expectations? Sorry for overstepping. Are we dating? Sorry for being clingy. Sorry for taking so long to tell you. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
“I love you, too,” he murmured. “So much.”
———
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hermannsthumb · 3 years
Note
hey I’m not sure if you’re taking prompt requests but I just had this idea if you ever want to write it. I know it’s not anywhere near New Years right now but I had an idea for if there was a little NYE party with all the ppdc staff there. All the homies are just vibing, getting crunk on shitty alchohol or whatever and y’know Newt and Hermann have a lil New Year’s Eve kiss 🥺
That’s all I have to say I hope you’re having a good day!
@owengrose said: Prompt: "My New Year's resolution is to finally tell him I love him."
happy new year’s eve to both of you!!! i let the first one sit in my ask box for a while before getting to it lol. my annual Newmann NYE fic. here’s to hoping next year is moderately better (and I actually get more writing done...)
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“Here we are, then,” Hermann says.
He hands Newt a glass of something he concocted at the lab kitchenette—judging by the color, and the pitiful wedge of a clementine garnish he squeezed onto the brim, some sort of gin and tonic, though less tonic and more watermelon La Croix. It was the only thing they could find in the breakroom fridge that would work remotely as a mixer. It’s probably been buried in there for months. “Thanks, dude,” Newt says. Then, noticing the lack of a similar glass in Hermann’s hand, asks “Not drinking?”
“None of that,” Hermann says. “I’ve got a bottle of decent wine buried somewhere under all the rubbish in my desk. I’ll have that if I want any before we go.”
“Suit yourself,” Newt says. “It’ll be more fun if we show up tipsy, I’m telling you.”
New Year’s Eve used to be a lot more exciting when Newt was in school, and young and invincible and all that shit. There were parties—bar crawls—the Times Square ball drop at midnight, queued up on someone’s laptop or a television screen wherever he was—drinking until he needed a classmate (or later colleague) to walk him home. The Shatterdome staff still goes as hard as Newt used to, and God, Newt envies them for it, but the end of the world kinda killed it for him. He just kinda exists in a low, humming state of anxiety now. He and Hermann both. It’s good for them to get out of the lab every now and then and strive for normalcy, and Newt has a feeling Hermann knows it, which is probably why he didn’t put up a fight when Newt suggested they go to the big base party tonight.
Newt still needs a good few drinks in him before he can drink more and pretend to be merry. He finishes the gin and tonic with a wince. “Too much gin,” he says. “Okay, let’s go.”
Newt drinks, and he dances with a few people, and he engages in a few genuine non-work-related-conversations before he finally admits to himself he’d rather just chill with Hermann in one of the deserted corners of the room. Hermann is waiting for him in a stupid gold party hat with a cup of water—what a guy. Always there for Newt. The hat is a cute look on him, too. Newt wonders if he picked it out himself, or if it was forced on him; either scenario is cute.
“I just don’t fancy dealing with your hangover tomorrow,” Hermann says with a sniff, as Newt swallows the water down gratefully after a few thanks. “Last year—”
“Yeah, okay,” Newt says. Last year was bad. He ended up falling asleep on the floor of the lab, and when Hermann made him coffee the next morning, he puked it up all over a very important stack of Hermann’s paperwork and the subsequent shouting match just made his headache worse. Drinking water is good, very good. He kicks his feet up on a nearby vacant chair. The music is loud, and people look like they’re having fun. Normalcy. He and Hermann are just two normal dudes right now, who aren’t fighting monsters from another dimension. “Can you believe we’ve survived another year?”
“Frankly, no,” Hermann admits.
“One whole year,” Newt says. “One whole year of not being squashed by a kaiju, or eaten by a kaiju, or murdered by you…”
Hermann snorts derisively, though a bit of a genuine smile does peek through. “One whole year of you not blowing the laboratory up. That is a feat, isn’t it?”
“You fucking bet it is,” Newt says. He really thought Hermann was going to kill him over the puking incident, and only a day into the new year too. He slings an arm around Hermann’s shoulders. Two normal dudes, and friends at that. He really likes Hermann, y’know, but that might just be the gin and watermelon La Croix talking. “You got any resolutions, dude?”
“Er,” Hermann says.
“I want to try to get into yoga,” Newt says. “For exercise, and shit. We should do it together.” Back when the base enjoyed more funding and workers, Newt was always seeing flyers for weekly yoga classes taped up in the elevator and at the announcement board in the mess; once, he got it so into his mind that he was going to start going that he bought three whole pairs of yoga pants. He never got around to it, of course. The classes kinda fizzled out when the PPDC budget was slashed drastically anyway. Hopefully YouTube videos work just as well, and that the pants still fit him...
“If I’m being honest, Newton,” Hermann says, and Newt spies the tips of his ears turning pink, how cute, “I still haven’t quite managed to accomplish last year’s resolution. Or technically this year’s, I suppose. My—well—my nerves failed me every time I thought I was close.”
"Eh, no big deal,” Newt says. “I never did mine either. I think that’s just as much of a tradition.” He went vegan for all of two weeks before realizing most of the rationing-standard food they served in the mess wasn’t exactly catered to those particular dietary needs. Also, Newt likes fancy lattes too much, and oatmilk just wasn’t kicking it for him. “I totally am gonna do the yoga one though. I need a stress reliever. I don’t wanna go bald before we’re even killed by kaiju, you know?” He crosses his legs. “Or go grey. I can’t decide which is worse. What was yours?”
“Nothing important,” Hermann says quickly. He takes a clumsy sip of his own cup of water, and spills a bit of it down his sweater. Newt decides not to mention. “It must be nearly midnight. Don’t you want to run off to find someone to snog?”
“Nah, not this year, I don’t think,” Newt says. Last year (before the whole blacking out and ruining the paperwork thing), he made out with a ranger he had a crush on for, like, months, and the guy never even called him back. And Newt slipped his official PPDC email into his pocket too. So totally rude. He reaches out and plucks the elastic string holding Hermann’s hat on, and is delighted when Hermann scowls. “You’re stuck with me. Why don’t you find someone to kiss?”
Hermann opens his mouth, and then shuts it. The blush is spreading down from his ears. “I am staying right here, thank you, and I am not kissing anyone.”
“Suit yourself,” Newt says.
“Five minutes to go!” someone in the crowd shouts.
Newt locates a party hat of his own on a nearby table and pulls it on. It’s silver, unlike Hermann’s. He doesn’t think it looks nearly as cute as Hermann’s. “What was your resolution?” he finally asks. The burning curiosity’s too much for him. What did Hermann mean by nerves? Hermann’s never afraid to speak his mind around Newt, at least—Newt can’t remember the last time he’s held back anything. This must be a pretty big thing. 
“Oh, it hardly matters now,” Hermann says. “The year’s about to end, isn’t it? Better luck next go around, I suppose.”
“Were you going to request your own lab?” Newt says. That’s a big thing. And it’s a big thing he’d be hesitant to share with Newt, too. Not that Newt would be upset over having his own lab, obviously, sharing with Hermann totally sucks. It’s the worst.
“Mm. No,” Hermann says.
Newt feels a small twinge of relief, but only for a moment. “A different Shatterdome?” It’s the sort of thing Hermann’s always threatening—by Jove, Newton, if you don’t clean this mess up right now, I’m marching into the Marshal’s office, and I’m going to demand...
“Oh, it’s hardly that dramatic,” Hermann says. He plucks at the elastic of his hat this time. “It’s one minute until midnight.”
“Just tell me!” Newt says. Their fellow partygoers start counting down around them. “You’re killing me. I just wanna—”
“Ten—”
“It’s not important,” Hermann says.
“It is to me,” Newt says.
“It’s really not,” Hermann says.
“Tell me, tell me, tell me—”
“Fine,” Hermann says.
He grips the front of Newt’s shirt. Newt shuts up immediately. “I’m in love with you,” Hermann growls, “you wretched little man. That was my bloody resolution.”
“Oh, shit,” Newt squeaks.
Someone pops a bottle of champagne to loud cheers; confetti is suddenly raining down on Newt and Hermann. They totally missed midnight. “Oh, shit,” Newt repeats, and then, because Hermann looks utterly mortified and like he wants to book it out of there as fast as he can, thinks fuck it. He leans forward and kisses Hermann.
“Newton,” Hermann gasps, half in shock, half in delight, and returns it enthusiastically.
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yogpetshame · 2 years
Note
I think Hat Films very much dodged a bullet here. They wont lose a lot of good will from a borderline terrible concert featuring songs about monkeys having sex (with long periods of making monkey noises/screeches) as their fans rapidly begin to realise that internet jokes don't translate well into real life and maybe a live music show of an incredibly amateur band with entirely meme-based songs may not have been a good use of time or money. For all involved.
It kinda reminds me of Tupperware Remix Party except like... even worse. At least with TWRP there's some fun to be had, like you were watching a room full of five year olds get fucking crunk to "The Hokey Pokey." Instead of singing children's party music, the Hats are just singing geriatric memes. Not even good music, just a joke. A joke you can't tell repeatedly.
It's like this, but a band:
Tumblr media
Clear the mosh pit, we're about to go apeshit when Smith starts whiteboy rapping like he's auditioning to take Daniel Radcliffe's place in the Weird Al movie. Or just stand around dazed like their audience did at Yogcon.
But maybe it was the heat that made them all so lethargic.
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jrueships · 3 years
Note
Not to be a gremlin buuuuuuut would you care to share your redacted thoughts on trae/John 👀 because I would love to hear them 😳
IMMA BE HONEST ANON.. They're mainly just [redacted] loose random ideas I think with about absolutely NO explanation whatsoever so.. 😭 it's nothing like.. SPECTACULAR but 😳😳 u know like I just can't give u the whole spiel rn 😭
But I'll give random tidbits anyways 😎
Okay so I'll start with like.. the SCENARIO I was thinking about before. So like- 
Trae and John go out clubbing to celebrate a win. They're recently new to the NBA, trae more-so Collins, so they've got a little pride in their win and wanna have fun and get some hotties. But, the win wasn't at home, so most of the people at the club pretty much hated them for beating a team that was supposed to win instead of the hawks. Basically, they get no bitches. 
  And trust me. They did EVERYTHING to get bitches.
Trae would have John go up to women and try and be a good wingman, advertise Trae's attractiveness, Nope. Nada. Trae put in his and John's favorite song. Nobody even wanted to dance with them. It was just John and trae dancing by themselves.. which was fine and all because they usually just dance together anyways, but it Did look a little awkward so… That ended quickly. A lady throws her shoe at them, to which trae keeps because fuck her and her shoe. Now bitch can hobble back home with one barefoot like a crunked up Cinderella 
BUT IN END RESULT, they left the club with no bitches and hurt egos. 
During the drive back to their hotel, Trae complained the whole way. He goes from frustrated to flabbergasted to angry to despairing to annoyed. The whole drive is just him ranting about 'bitches' and how he got none. John keeps pitching in by complaining as well, also showing confusion, equal anger, empathizing, and equal, if not more, Annoyance at the women's denials as well.
And then John says something like "if /I/ was a female, ((we all know how straight men talk yall.)) I'd TOTALLY find you hot, dude!"
   That's when the car gets quiet.
John realizes what he said and quickly tries joking it off, giving a hurried "no homo though!" And laughing nervously. 
Trae starts to laugh and everything is a rushed, awkward fine again. Trae even jokes about it when they park at the hotel, getting out first and opening John's car door for him in mock romance. The charade goes on for a while to lighten things up until the slip up is nothing of serious substance…
A few drinks to drown out their pussyless sorrows and things start to get a little tipsy. Silly drunk conversations conjure while they sit on trae's hotel room bed, but nothing of big talk.. Not until Trae reminds himself about his scoreless night and starts ranting until he gets sad again. Thick brow furrowed, he squinted blurred at the ground and trails his funny gaze up John's physique. He asks something akin to the lines of "hey… remember when you said like… if you were a woman… you'd find me hot?" To which John panics but confirms nonetheless…
Trae goes o h and they sit in awkward silence. They both painfully finish their like. 4th beer of the night. Then trae finally breaks the silence by asking, 
  "So… like.. hypothesis..-ly… hypo...hypocritically-" 
      "Hypothetically ?"
"Yeah. That's what I said. Anyways. Hypothesisly… if you Were a woman.. would you also .. fuck me?"
SO YEAH. THERES MORE TO IT UHH THEY FUCK (DUH) AND THEY BOTH WAKE UP IN THE SAME BED AND PANIC NOT REMEMBERING ANYTHING.. but they find that one shoe the woman threw at them strewn by the door so … of course their straight minds (desperately) convince themselves that they had an EPICLY AWESOME AND HOT threesome with a SMOKING HOT BABE who quickly fled the scene. … And maybe their d*cks mightve touched ONCE and MAYBE trae feels like touching John's ass is far more familiar than he'd like but… THINGS HAPPEN IN THE DARK OK. IT'S HARD TO SEE… 
   In conclusion, they drunk fucked and convinced themselves that they didn't drunk fuck 😭
     But my random weird ideas about them fucking just in general are like…
OKAY OKAY. I know we all love to see short and tall ships.. and the general CONSENSUS is that the taller one is the top but THERES SMTHIN ABOUT THE SHORTER ONE TOPPING THAT IS.. GOOD. OKAY?? So. Yeah. Trae tops LMFAO. HES JUST SO… CLEVERLY ?? SCHEMEY THAT?? He just Is the top ok. THEY CAN SWITCH and john can be the service top to power bottom Trae but.. they have to develop past their straightness for that level 😭 
 BUT ANYWAYS MORE ABOUT TOP TRAE.. he is literally Only hot to John LMFAO. He says and does the cheesiest shit in bed. If he was with anyone else, he'd turn them off by just getting naked down to his batman underwear. But luckily he is with John, his dumbly devoted best friend <3 
More about them in bed tho…
Okay so picture John on the bed getting fucked by Trae standing on the floor because it's too hard for Trae to top with such a height difference LMAO… John is bent on his back and his long legs are hooked over trae's shoulders.. Trae turns his head to kiss his legs all sweet…  John starts to whimper out a moan but then.   Trae puts a finger to his lips and makes a shushing motion like he did to the knicks crowd KABXJS 
Like when trae wants to fuck??? They fuck. In a hotel room with their teammates staying like?? Literally next door? Doesn't matter. They gonna fuck. Just so trae can have the cheesy NERVE of shushing john when their sex is getting too loud. Even though TRAE is the verbal one… 
And by verbal like.. bad porn verbal. Loud obnoxious grunting. Keeps asking John if he likes it. How 'big he is'. Asks how much John Wants it. Then doesn't let John formulate any kind of intelligible response because he's already leaning down to bite the long length of his neck.
SPEAKING OF BITING.. trae is definitely a biter. LMAO… he bites the insides of John's thighs, his neck, the slope of his shoulder, anywhere he can claim his stake, he Claims it. (Even the ass 😭 he's cursed like that man.) Afterwards in the aftercare he trails over his bite marks and kisses them and says smthin stupidly cocky like "you're a work of art and baby I'm your artist"
Trae in general is just a very passionate lover. If he wants John in a different position, he'll PUT John in a different position. Trae wants to do all the work to please John and himself and John just wants to please Trae. Trae will do anything bro. Eating ass, giving or getting (by getting like. Hand on hair Always) the sloppy toppy, having John ride him like. Bro got a fiesty libido.
And John just lets Trae take whatever he wants. He mainly doesn't have the strength to spit out terrible pornstar lines, so he settles for just.. desperately chanting out a slurred series of "bros/dudes/mans/any other term frat bros use to lovingly regale each other in". But yeah. He spends most of his time trying to look at Trae and think about how much he loves him 😭 and how hot he thinks he is right now like this. They're VERY much into looking at each other when having sex, but they weren't at the start though. At the beginning it was a whole "You don't look at me, I don't look at you" deal that was quickly broken when Trae pushed in and they both finally realized how much they want each other so …
ANYWAYS… YEAH.. them being [redacted] together is always like… on the VERGE of being sexy until one of them ruins it somehow (but the other will always find it sexy somehow. The sensible readers just won't 😭). Like if Trae is clapping John's cheeks and they make a funny sound, they're both gonna stop and laugh at how much it sounded like John farted. They're just two stupid guys in stupid love baby!!!! 
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blackmissfrizzle · 4 years
Text
City Boy and His Country Girl- Part 2
Read Part 1
Characters: Erik Stevens x black!reader
Summary: Erik takes the reader to the shooting range and learns some interesting things.
Warnings: Language, a dash a violence, Fuckboi!Erik but mostly softboi!Erik, and mentions of smut
A/N: I’m loving this series, so I hope y’all enjoy!
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Hanging out with Erik was a total shock. Back home you were used to people talking shit by dressing it up and making it seem like a compliment, but Erik, but Erik Stevens didn’t have no trouble speaking his mind.
If he didn’t like an idea you had for work it wasn’t a ‘Oh, it could be better.’ It was a ‘Texas, that shit fucking sucks. If you wanna beat them colonizers you need something better. Wake me up when you have something better.’
He had no filter on some of your outfits. “Y/N/N stop dressing like you about to go to the hoe down! This is New York City, dress like it!”
Sometimes you wanted to gouge his eyes out, but then you remembered whenever one of your coworkers insulted you, you didn’t break down and cry in the restroom, because Erik was already thickening your skin. You even found yourself snapping back at your coworkers when they tried you.
Then the self-defense training was a whole another beast! Erik was ruthless.  He trained you like you were gonna join the ghost operation, he was a part of in the Navy. It didn’t matter if you just threw up, your ass better be ready, his words, not yours.
Also, it was pure torture, but not because of the physical pain. It was because somehow someway Erik always ended up naked. His raised scars were a little jarring at first, but once you got used to them, it added to his appeal.
Erik was an Adonis, a Greek statute in the living flesh. Half of the time you got knocked on your ass because you were too busy gawking at his body. Sometimes it felt like he knew you were staring because he would just smirk at you.
And then those damn gym shorts he’d be wearing, do nothing to hide his dick print. And what you could tell from it was that it was nothing to play with.
Today he was teaching you a new lesson: how to shoot. Little did he know that you had expert marksmanship. Daddy-daughter bonding with your dad was spent hunting, fishing, and shooting. Erik Stevens was in for a surprise.
“Texas, you need to keep your legs shoulder width apart and keep your feet planted,” Erik instructed, sticking his leg in between yours, forcing you into the stance.
Having him this dangerously close to you made you tremble. His scent was intoxicating and having his hard body pressed against you made you want to lean back into him and stay there.
“Damn girl! You shaking like a damn leaf, you scared or something?” Erik joked, knowing him pressing himself against you had you shaking like that. Every time he trained you, he noticed the lust in your eyes. That’s why he always took off his shirt and wore his grey sweats. One time he caught you looking at his print when you thought he wasn’t paying attention and he made his dick jump to mess with you. The little gasp you made in reaction almost had you flat on the mat while Erik had your ankles up to your ears and deep in that puss.
“No,” you said, snatching the gun off the counter. “Can we start now,” you asked, annoyed at how easily Erik affected you.
Erik raised his hands in surrender. “Damn, my bad. Remember if you miss more than five, you gotta cook me some of your bomb ass fried chicken.” Erik reminded you of the bet before pressing the button.
The targets popped up instantly and for the first time in a while you felt like you were home. Effortlessly, you hit each bullseye, leaving you wanting for more.
Facing Erik, he was standing there slacked jaw. This was the first time you had him at a loss for words and you were gonna enjoy it. “Huh, you quiet now, Oakland,” you cuffed your hand around your ear. Teasing him some more you began crunk dancing in his space. “I can’t hear you, Stevens!”
Erik was doing his best not to laugh at your silliness. He still wanted to pretend that he was mad at you, but it was proving to be harder by the minute. “Girl calm your silly ass down! You had me go through all that, just for you to breeze through like you were the one in the military. What about my fried chicken? You know a nigga hungry!”
“Boy, stop being a cry baby,” you smacked your lips. “That’s what you get for assuming shit and I wasn’t gonna leave you hanging. I know them hoes ain’t feeding your greedy ass.”
Digging for his keys in his pocket, Erik grabbed your hand and rushed the two of you out the building. “Shit lets go then! A nigga hungry!”
“Ole greedy ass,” you mumbled, letting Erik shove you into his loud ass yellow, McLaren 570s.
--
Erik was tearing into his plate. The only time he got a home cooked meal was with Y/N or with his aunt and cousins, which was traditional Wakandan food. So when he got some soul food he had to savor it.
“So, Texas, tell me why you so good at shooting?” Erik asked you, when he finally stopped eating to drink some sweet tea.
“My daddy used to take me out back all the time and we practiced shooting. You should see me with a shotgun.”
“Makes sense,” Erik nodded his head, thinking on how you were raised in the south. “Y/N, lemme ask you something. Its been on my mind for a while.”
Dropping your fork of mashed potatoes, you responded with worry at the seriousness of Erik’s tone, “What is it, Erik?”
“You call anyone else daddy besides your dad?”
It took awhile to catch his drift, but when you did you threw a roll at his face, which he caught with his mouth. “Ewww, no! What the hell is wrong withch yo nasty ass?”
Erik busted out laughing, causing the roll to fall out of his mouth. He had inkling that you never did before, but he loved messing with you. “Awww, c’mon on ma, you ain’t have a nigga give you some dick that you couldn’t call him nothing but daddy?” He asked, licking his lips and tilting his head looking at you curiously.
You couldn’t handle the warm feeling Erik was causing to your little bundle of nerves, so a quick diversion was needed. Resorting to your old childish antics, you stuck a finger in each of your ears and yelled, “La la la la la la la la la la.”
Taking hold of each of your wrists, Erik pulled your fingers out of your ears. “Girl grow up! Why you always shying away from talking about sex?”
“Because it’s unlady like and you not my man, Mr. Stevens.” Talking sex was a regular with your friends on girl’s night and it could get graphic, but something told you talking about sex with Erik was whole another thing.
Off rip, Erik sensed you were an undercover freak, you just needed the right person to bring it out. “Man, I don’t need to be your man to give you that good daddy dick,” Erik said, smiling, clasping his hands behind his head so you could admire his biceps.
Rolling your eyes, you got up from your seat and grabbed both of y’all plates and went to the sink. “My mama warned me about men like you, Erik Stevens.”
Getting up from his seat, Erik crept behind you, caging you in between him and the sink. “Princess, I promise there ain’t no men like me,” Erik whispered.
“Shit, Erik! Stop scaring me like that!” You yelled at him, trying your best to calm your nerves.
“My bad, ma.” Erik apologized while he took the dirty plate out your hand and bumped you with his hip to move you out of the way so he could finish the dishes.
Taking this blessing you jumped on the counter besides Erik to keep him company. At this angle you had the perfect view of his profile. Erik had the most beautiful skin, smooth and rich. He was probably one of those lucky niggas who only used soap and water on his face while you had to use fifty-eleven million products just not to get one pimple.
Right now, studying him you didn’t realize how attracted you were to his jaw. Your favorite thing was when he was deep in concentration like now or when he was annoyed, his jaw would clench, and you swore you do anything for that man.
Feeling you stare at him, but wanting to lay off on the teasing, Erik asked you a question. “So, what type of men like me did Mrs. Y/L/N warn you about?”
“Silver tongued devils that make women lose all common sense.”
Flicking his tongue suggestively, Erik answered, “I gotta admit this tongue is talented.”
Smacking him on the back of his neck, you mumbled, “Nasty ass.”
“All you gotta do is ask, ma. You don’t have to revert to elementary days to show that you like me,” Erik joked, rubbing the back of his neck with a sudsy hand.
Ignoring his comment, you changed the subject before you do something stupid and ask him to show you how talented his tongue is. “Enough talking about me. How’s the work project going?”
“Oh, it’s dope, Texas! I feel like a slacker with the kids coming up with all the ideas. All I’m doing is the actual production of the filtration system.” Erik face lit up as he went on to explain how the kids at the Outreach Center were coming up with ideas for a water filter for Flint.
The way Erik got hyped about the kids he was helping, told you he’d be an excellent father. Before your brain could dream up what you and his nonexistent children would look like his phone pinged.
Since he was busy washing dishes, Erik asked you to get it. “Oooooo, it’s a text from Ashley.”
“Which one,” he asked absentmindedly.
Rolling your eyes, you forgot that Erik had a roster of girls. “She’s got a diamond emoji next to her name.”
“Ohhh, Anal Ashley. What she want?”
Shaking your head at his fuckboy tendencies you read the text in a ditzy but sultry tone. “Daddy, I need you.”
At the sound of your voice saying daddy, Erik almost broke the glass he was washing. He would have to remember that for a later date. “See, you can call a nigga daddy. And tell her I’m busy.”
“No, I can’t. I was just getting into character. And nigga, no you not!”
Erik finished washing the last dish and then dried his hands with a towel. “I’m hanging out with my bestie. Ain’t that doing something?”
Even though you didn’t want him to go, you needed him to go. Or those feelings you were ignoring were gonna grow deeper. “You can hangout with me anytime. Go see one of your hoes. You know you get cranky when you haven’t had sex in awhile.”
There was no way Erik wanted trade time with you with some random girl for meaningless sex and meaningless conversation. But he also had a painful erection since he heard you read that text and he didn’t want to push up on you that hard.  A poor substitution would have to do. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m about to watch Real Housewives of Atlanta guilt free without you judging me.” Whenever you put it on, Erik would grumble and complain about you watching trash tv.
Grabbing his keys, Erik walked to the door and you followed. “A’ight, imma head out. Lock this door as soon as I head out.” Erik commanded you, knowing you had a tendency to forget to lock your door.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you go now? Nene is calling my name.”
Before leaving, Erik kissed your cheek and bid you goodbye. Taking in that he kissed you, you floated to the couch, daydreaming about the man, forgetting to lock the door.
“Y/N, LOCK THIS DAMN DOOR!” Erik furious voice broke your daydream.
“Go away, Erik! Nobody’s gonna rob me while I’m here.” You yelled back, not moving an inch from your couch.
“I’m not leaving until you get your country bumpkin ass up and lock this door, deadass!”
Grumbling you got up and locked the door. “Happy now?!”
“Thank you! Imma hit you up when I’m done.” Erik told you.
Returning to your couch, you turned on your tv and tried not to think about how Erik was having sex with some one other than you.
“It happens to everyone, Daddy. Let’s watch some tv.” Ashley suggested, reaching for her remote with one hand and stroking his arm with another.
Erik couldn’t believe he couldn’t get it up. Especially with help from the henny.
Ashley was a beautiful girl, no doubt. A redbone version of Naomi Campbell with the attitude to match for no apparent reason, but that never stopped him before.
The thing was she wasn’t you. When Erik had his eyes closed, he could pretend it was you sucking him up, but once his eyes opened and he saw Ashley he instantly went soft.
“Nah, imma head out instead,” Erik said, lifting up from the couch.
Tugging his arm, Ashley pulled Erik back to his seat. “No, stay.”
“Listen, Ash, to be honest I don’t think this,” Erik motioned between him and Ashley. “is gonna work. I’m ending this tonight.”
Ashley’s mood changed.  “It’s because of that cow you’re always posting on your snap, huh?” She said, referring to you.
Lunging across the couch, Erik’s hands wrapped around Ashley’s throat. His hands choked her tight enough to let her know he meant business but not too tight to do any damage.
“Don’t you ever fucking disrespect her like that again!” He warned through gritted teeth.
“Now Killmonger wants to come out to play! Get your crazy ass out my house!”
Erik shoved her into the couch before he hopped up. “Lose my fucking number too! I don’t wanna hear from your ignorant ass anymore.”
“Nobody wants a limped ass dick nigga anyway! Good riddance!” Ashley shouted as Erik slammed the door.
While he was walking to his car, Erik texted the one person who he knew still be up.
MSG ERIK: Hey, I’m on my way over so get ready because we ain’t watching that RHOA shit. We watching The Godfather.
MSG Y/N: Already??? Damn Oakland, I didn’t know you were a minute man 😂 and who tf you think you are??? This my house and we’ll watch whatever I want PERIODT!
MSG ERIK: Girl, don’t play with me before I have to make an example of you 💪🏾 and like I said we watching The Godfather.
MSG Y/N: 🙄🙄🙄 whatever. I’ll leave the door unlocked.
MSG ERIK: Y/N KEEP THAT DOOR FUCKING LOCKED!
You read his message but didn’t reply. Erik hated being left on read. Happily, you skipped to unlock your door, knowing that was one more thing to piss off your bestie.
Sliding into his driver’s seat, Erik double checked his phone to see if he was reading it correctly. It said you read his last message, but you didn’t reply.
“This little girl really left me on read. Imma get her ass and that door better be locked when I get there,” Erik mumbled to himself while securing himself.
Soon as the car roared to life, Erik sped down the streets of New York rushing to get to the one woman who made him want to pull his hair out and cuddle her at the same time.
Tagging: @fd-writes @raysunshine78 @momobaby227 @thickemadame @twistedcharismaaa @marvelmaree @ladydragonpurplefire @l-auteuse @thehomierobbstark @titty-teetee @nerd-lovely @soufcakmistress @chaneajoyyy
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Text
if you celebrate today, merry christmas!
if you’re alone today, i’m sending you good vibes and funny cat videos
if you don’t, hopefully you aren’t at work and you can chill the fuck out, drink some tea or get crunk drunk, text your friends, enjoy something that makes you happy <3
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angelisverba · 4 years
Text
so precious, if only you knew
in which y/n thinks her brother’s best friend sees her as a little sister, and Jason, her brother’s best friend, thinks she’s too cute for her own good.
word count: 9k give or take some :D
pairing: y/n, and her brothers best friend, Jason (from the snl skit)
notes: inspired by project x. that’s all.
When Jason and his friends were in their freshman year of high school, they made a pact.
To have a party.
A party so big, everyone got laid. A party so big, celebrities came. A party so big, the police feared it.
One where they would loose their virginity. Get drunk so they couldn’t remember how they lost it (although, now it’s too late ‘cause none of them are virgins). And maybe, just maybe, participate in the illegal consumption of illegal substances such as drugs and or alcohol.
At the time of their promise, it was unknown if this party would be any sort of celebration, or just for the hell of it. The four, gangly, skinny, face-full-of-acne, boys had been so fueled by the simple idea that they just had to make their party so legendary future alumni could only imagine imitating an ordeal as great as the one they created. As time passed, they argued over who’s birthday, or what holiday would be the cause of, as it had come to be named, G.C.B.B. Get Crunk and Bone Babes. Pronounced gee-sea-babe, because somehow the two b’s had morphed into ‘babe’. GCBabe, in the end, was endowed to Jason when he made a bet that he would score the winning touchdown and win the league for his high school during his junior year. Andrew and Kent, slightly peeved but more relieved that they had a reason to celebrate (they’d settled on Jason’s birthday), and had shifted their focus to the hows, when, wheres, and whats of the situation.
This was the only thing they ever talked about the closer it got to the date, Feburary 1st, and everything they did revolved around spreading the word, obtaining booze, weed, and whatever else they planned on having. Andrew, who’s uncle so conveniently ran a radio station, not only announced a message himself on said radio station, but also convinced his uncle’s dj coworkers to email any celebrities they knew.
Kent, more on the brainy side of things, was working on the booze and drugs. He snuck into the school and used that machine they had to make student id’s and created a fake state id for himself. He would buy booze in a store where workers didn’t know him. Maybe drive 30 minutes to the next town for beer and the lot. His cousin had told him not to worry about weed and the sorts, as long as he received payment.
Jason, ever the spoiled brat, would pay for everything. Even if it was his birthday.
No, no, because it was his birthday.
The thing is, his parents were going out of town to celebrate their anniversary, which just so happened to fall on Jason’s birthday (what a wonderful gift to Jason’s dad), and had given him a generous sum of money to make up for the fact that they wouldn’t be there to celebrate his 18th birthday party. So, he had the house, the money, and the birthday to celebrate.
“YOU’VE HEARD IT ONCE BEFORE, AND YOU’LL HEAR IT AGAIN TILL THE END OF THIS SCHOOL’S TIME,” yelled Andrew, who stood on the back of a golf cart, megaphone in hand while Jason and Kent drove him up and down the lunch tables, “PARTY AT FUCKING JASON’S HOUSE, THIS SATURDAY. MISS IT, AND YOU’LL DIE.”
“Andrew!”
The cart came to a stop in front of a very disgruntled-looking y/n, Andrew’s sister. She stood comically, with her hands bunched up into tiny fists at her hips, lips in a frown at her brothers actions. “Are you trying to cause a riot? Miss it or die,” she mocked, pulling a funny face and cocking her hip to the side as she does so, “Yeah, think I’d rather die, thanks. Now shut up and put that cart back before they take away your senior privileges.”
Kent laughs, and Jason, leaning with his forearms crossed on top of the steering wheel, snickered into his wrists.
“Well, I’ve got news for you sissy,” said Andrew, his tongue poking out at her playfully, “Coach Barnwell let us borrow his cart, and all the snitch staff is in a meeting, so I’m not gonna get into trouble,” He makes and L with his forefinger and thumb, pressing it on his forehead, “Loser. Now, scram. Go study for chem or... something.”
Y/n laughed at her brother, knowing that he was only joking with her, and flipped him off. She walked away with, as Andrew said, her chem book tucked underneath her arm, and shut herself in a little nook at the library for the remainder of the lunch period. Away from the ‘get crunk and bone babes’ nonsense, god knows she heard enough of it at home. Jason this, and GCBabe that. Sheesh, it was terrible. All she ever wanted to do was study and do her homework in peace... and maybe steal a few glances and Jason here and there.
But we don’t have to talk about that. What y/n really needed to do, was study for the chem test she had on Friday. Tomorrow. She was the best in her class, always raising her hand to answer a question, but for whatever reason, she just couldn’t get the hand of stoichiometry if she didn’t have a sample problem in front of her. She didn’t want to have to, but grades mattered, so all day she had been thinking of way to cheat. How to write what she needed. Which letters to shorten. Where to hide the slip of paper.
She’d done it before.
Cheat on a test, that is. The pressure there was to ensure good grades, well it was an insurmountable force. Her entire life, her parents told her academic success led to success in life, and you don’t want to end up homeless under the bridge do you, y/n?
She didn’t. It was her biggest fear. Studying hard for a nice home and car, and enough money to support herself and her kids was a constant thought in the back of her mind.
It’s because of this that the tip of her nose was always stuck in a book, her fingers always wrapped around a pencil that transcribed notes in her neat writing. It was all she knew.
Because it was all she knew. It was no surprise to her parents when she pulled all-nighters to study for tests. Or when she declined offers to eat dinner out because ‘mom, I have a test to study for’ or ‘dad, i really need to finish this essay’. That night, was no different. Y/n stayed up to study, her thumb pink because of all the pages she was flipping through. Her wrist her from forcing her writing to be as small as it could, so she could fit all she could on an index card she cut in half. 
In the morning, Andrew cheered a loud, “WHOOP! WHOOP! MY SISTER ISN’T SUCH A GOODY TWO SHOES AFTER ALL!” when he saw her place the card up her shirtsleeve after she put her seat belt on. Y/n, had she had the energy, would’ve pushed his shoulder, but instead chose to take a nap during the measly 15 minutes it took to get to school. Her head jostled against the headrest with the cars movements, and she almost cried because she couldn’t doze off. Somewhere along the way, she felt fingers against the side of her face, cradling her head. She jumped, startled, but she heard Andrew say,
“Relax, its Jason. Picked him up cause he needed a ride to school.” and she was out like a light.
Andrew got out of the car once he parked, and Jason circled around the passenger seat so he leaned over the console, with his palm still on the other side of her face. He rubbed up and down her forearm to wake her, murmuring, “We’re here, y/n. S’time to wake up.”
Y/n woke up disoriented, starting with a deep breath and her eyes blinking open slowly, looking around and landing on Jason, who was smiling at her tenderly. She smiles back at him, tilting her head to the side as she does so. She hopes he can’t hear how fast her heart is beating.
“Good morning,” she said to him. The warning bell rings not long after that, and she turns away from him to reach for her backpack. Jason grabs his own backpack, too, swinging it over his should and stepping out of Andrew’s car. Andrew stands at the front of the car, texting someone on his phone while he waits for Jason and his little sister to step out.
“C’mon guys. Big day today!” yelled Andrew. It seemed as if he was always yelling. His voice, ebullient and clear, held an electrifying energy today, amplifying itself to the max. He whooped and hollered, locking his car carelessly and comically skipping away, but not before turning back and blowing a kiss in Jason’s general direction, yelling, “This is for you, big boy!”
Y/n snickered at her brother, and at Jason’s shocked face. “That was for you, big boy,” she repeated after he brother.
“You forgot the kiss,” he said, pouting and pointing his chin down at the floor. Her heart doubled over in her chest, and she struggled to contain her swoon.The little 13 year old in her, having been the first time she ever felt anything for Jason, squealed like a banshee, and the rational 17 year old in her, shushed her by taping her mouth closed. Having seen Jason’s blonde, skinny, cheerleader girlfriends, she knew it would never happen. Jason was only nice to her because she was his best friend’s little sister.
That was all she’d ever be.
“Oh I have no doubt you’ll get plenty of those tomorrow,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. When she noticed the groups of students getting smaller and smaller, she started walking away, eager to get to class and not be late. She’s only taken three steps when Jason calls out her name.
“I know you���ll do great on your test today,” and he has the goofiest smile on his stupidly handsome name and y/n just wants to go over there and slap him for making her heart to pirouettes.
“Thank you,” she said, and turned to walk to her class.
Jason felt as if he was in one of those indie movies. But, the ones from the 80′s. Ironically, he’s leaned up against the car, one foot propped up, hand clenching the singular strap he wore on his left shoulder. Entranced, he stared after y/n as she walked away, brows dipped over his eyes and his leg bouncing jitterishly.
When he was 16, a sophomore, and she a freshman, he’d stumbled upon her on a rainy spring day. He’d been on his way home from his (now ex) girlfriend’s house, and she was huddled underneath a large birch tree, the canopy thick enough so she wasn’t getting wet, but the winds strong enough that she was chilled to the bone. Her knees were banged up, and her ankle was twisted. Jason remembers asking her what happened, and she said nothing, instead jumping into his arms when he knelt down beneath her. He remember hissing because she was so cold, her clothes soaked through. She’d whispered to him a weak don’t tell my parents, please take me to your house, and he did. He took her to his house, carrying her because the poor thing had to hop on one foot. This was around the time he was bulking for wrestling, so he didn’t have a hard time lifting her and carrying her the rest of the way.
She fell asleep on his bed wearing a pair of his sweatpants and his hoodie after she took a warm shower. They never talked about. Not even once. But Jason swears that every once in a while, the skin of his neck still burns where she pressed a kiss to it after he got in bed next to her because she was ‘still cold’.
Since then, Jason harbored feelings for her. His yearning of her dainty hands to press against his chest while she cuddled into him was squashed every time he heard Andrew yell at another guy in the locker room for sexualizing his sister.
It was a dangerous game he played. Sneaking looks at her in car rides to and from school. Wanting to kiss her like he did then. And when she wore plaid school girl skirts, he wanted to press her up against the wall and hold her by the throat while his tongue snaked into her mouth. All while he sat next to Andrew.
He knew that one day, he’d say fuck it all and do it. He wasn’t an idiot. His back burned when she stared a him from her kitchen isle while he played video games with Kent and Andrew in the living room of her house. He knew every little thing she tried to pass as discreet, because he did the same thing too.
One day, and one day soon, he’d say fuck. it. all.
.
.
.
Y/n was very nervous.
Well, she always get nervous when she’s getting ready to take a test but, today was different. She was on edge, leg bouncing and head pounding. She was stressed. Her english teacher had assigned a paper that was due at midnight, and her math teacher had given her a surprise quiz she knows she failed. And this test was her chance to bring her B+ to an A-. Not to mention, if she got caught, she’d be sent up to the office with a referral.
“You have until the end of class to complete this exam. If you fail to complete before the class period, you will be granted five minutes after the bell. You may begin,” the teacher, Mrs. Prowe, sat down after the little announcement, and turned her full attention to an adult coloring book she had set up on her desk.
Y/n stared at the first question for a solid 2 minutes before any of the information actually sunk in. To which does He belong? a. metals b. metalloids c. non-met....
The first few questions are always easy. Review from past chapters, all of which y/n understood. The first page, front and back, were a breeze. She bubbled in circled on her answer sheet without hesitation. The back side, however, was a different story.
Her palms began to sweat at the sight of brackets and subscripts on letters. Her pencil started slipping. Y/n’s heart started to race, the edges of her eyes blurring. Don’t cry, don’t cry. Fuck. The note card. She took it out with no second thoughts. Within seconds, she had finished the first problem. It was almost exactly like the example exercise she had copied down, only the letters had been changed; different elements. Halfway through the period, the teacher announced how much time was left, and y/n was nearly done.
On the last page, however, was one problem she knew she wouldn’t get. It was one of what the teacher called ‘irregulars’, because you needed to follow certain rules that pertained to the elements or whatever the heck it was. She stared at the paper with her eyebrows raised, and all the dreadful feelings she had felt before tumbled back. Her pencil began to slip, her eyes began to blur. Shit, shit.
The bell rang. She didn’t want to doddle any longer, cut she needed to answer this last problem, and she didn’t fucking know how. Her leg was near violently shaking, the table quivering with her movements. Her breathing grew tight, and she figured, she could lose one point. Knowing Mrs. Prowe it wouldn’t matter because that last one is most likely worth half the test. Y/n felt herself go rigid, body nearly frozen as she walked against student traffic to place her test on the teachers desk.
She was the last to exit the classroom. She did so with her head hung low, her feet dragging slowly on the tiles. Lips trembling, fighting to hold back tears.
That was how she bumped into Jason. Shoulders drooping and eyes shining wet. She bumped into his chest so hard, she would’ve fallen back if he didn’t catch her.
“Y/n?” He asked after he stumbled back a bit. He’d seen her coming, and he was looking at her, ready to smile when she looked up, but she hadn’t. “What’s wrong?” He followed her gaze to try and make eye contact with her, but she shifted her eyes to the floor, and let the tears slip.
“Y/n? Y/n? Hey, look at me,” Jason’s voice was desperate and panicked because he wasn’t really sure what was wrong. Y/n started to curl in on herself, her hands coming to clutch opposite shoulders. When she didn’t look up at him, Jason gingerly lifted her chin up with his curled forefinger. “What is it?”
“It’s too much. I-I,” was all she managed to whisper before she started crying, she body swaying with sobs. Y/n knew, she knew she was crossing the same lines she had that rainy spring day, but she needed to feel her arms around him. She needed to feel secure.
So,
she took one step forward, and wrapped her arms around his neck awkwardly, Not a full millisecond passed, when she felt his arms encompass her, a secure bind around her waist. His chin propped on her head, on his hands rubbing up and down her back, and she had her face tucked into his neck.
“S’okay, y/n. You’re okay,” He cooed into her ear, making ssh-ssh noises every now and then.
Slowly but surely, y/n felt herself come down from the self-destructive place she put herself in; the knot in her throat untangled. She began to retract her arms from Jason’s neck, when his arms tightened around her. She stilled, unsure of what to do.
For a second, Jason had forgotten his situation. Why he couldn’t get close to her. He was so close to saying fuck-it-all. He wasn’t sure what held him back. Maybe it was her teary eyes. Or the fact that a teacher had come out of their classroom. But, he cleared his throat and pulled away from her, stuffing his hands in his letterman jacket to avoid reaching out to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
“Sorry about that,” she said, sniffing and attempting to laugh to brush off the back that she had a mini-breakdown in his arms. “I-”
“It’s okay, y/n. Don’t apologize. I just want to to know what had you so upset,” Jason said, his words coming out slowly to make sure that she truly understood how much he meant them.
“It’s just,” she sighed, “school. It’s a lot.”
He scoffed, “I bet. You do so much. More than you give yourself credit for, I think. Deserve a break.”
“This weekend; s’gonna be my break. Yours too, no? Are you excited?” She confessed, turning the other way and beginning to walk. She was sure that Andrew was waiting for them at the car. Jason walked alongside her, as soon as she started moving.
“Yeah. It’s been all me, Kent, and Andrew have wanted since freshman year.” Jason stops talking for a minute, and scrunches one side of his face.
“But?” Y/n prods. Looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He scratched the back of his neck, and his jacket inflates where his bicep flexes. Jason notices her looking, and smiles at her while giving her a side-eye look. Blushing, she turns her face straight forwards, like that didn’t just happen.
“But, some of the novelty has worn off if I’m being honest.” When she hums, almost knowingly, he adds quickly, “Don’t tell Andrew or Kent I said that.”
She giggled, and murmured, “You’ve kept my secrets, I’ll keep yours.”
Jason, surprised at her subtle acknowledgement of what happened nearly 2 years ago, turns to look at her, shocked. He wants to say something. Anything to get her to say more, but he sees Andrew and shuts his gaping mouth.
“There you are- hey, y/n, are you okay?” Andrew’s chesire cat grin drops from his face when he sees that his little sister’s face is splotchy and swollen red from past tears- a look he recognizes all to well from the times she’d come into his room in the middle of the night asking to be held.
“I’m good,” she smiled at her brother, a sad smile that revealed she wasn’t okay, but didn’t wanna talk about it. “Let’s go home.”
Their ride was full of quick gibber and banter over tomorrow. How thing would go down, who they hoped to see and, in Andrew’s words, fuck. What music they would play, etc. etc. Y/n laughed at their enthusiasm under her breath. As much as she loved her brother, he could be such an idiot sometimes
They dropped Jason off at his house, which was being prepped by Kent by the looks of it. His car- a red corolla- was parked in Jason’s strip of a driveway. Andrew promised he’d be joining them later that night, and pulled out. 
He pulled the windows up, and turned the music off. Then, he said,
“Y/n, what happened?” Andrew, as much as he was a fuckboy an party animal, cared about his sister if he cared about anything at all. Maybe a little too much.
Pushing air past her lips, “I’m fine now, Andy. I promise. That stupid chem test really had me going, that’s all.”
“Are you sure, y/n? No one was bothering you?” Andrew looked at her quickly, hesitantly turning away from her to look at the road.
“Andy, I’m okay.” She reassured her brother.
Jason wasn’t a bother.
.
.
.
Saturday morning, y/n woke up to an eerily quiet house.
A difference to the pasts months. She’d gotten used to Andrew yelling ‘GET CRUNK BONE BABES!” all over the house. Hell, their parents knew of the entire party ordeal, and were quite skeptical about it. Knowing their son, they didn’t try to stop him, they just told him time and time again to ‘be safe, Andrew.’ So many nights he had come home excited and drunk, and shown them videos on his phone of what had occurred at whoever’s house he’d been at before
Their dad, in fact, had watched the videos with amazement, and never bashed on anything other than the fact that he shouldn’t be drinking when he wasn’t the appropriate age for it yet.  Y/n and Andrew were lucky to have such laid-back and relaxed parents that focused much more on safety and well-being rather than the semantics of it.
As y/n crept down the stairs in her silky pj’s (a christmas gift from her 26-year old aunt who liked to shop at Victoria’s Secret), the murmurs of her parents in the kitchen became louder and louder.
“Heard it on the radio, for godsakes,” said her mother, laughing as she stirred whatever liquid she had in her mug.
“I wonder if Jason’s parents know, about the whole thing,” said her dad, his back was to her, facing his wife.
“They must, I mean, it’s the only thing these boy’s have wanted since they started high school, Jason proba- oh hey, y/n!” Her mom smiled wide when she saw her step off the last stair.  At the mention of his daughter’s name, her dad turns around, and y/n can see that he has a mug in his hand too.
“Good morning,” y/n croaked, her voice froggy early in the morning.
“Big day today, no?” Her dad teased.
“I guess so,” she murmured, taking a seat on the kitchen counter and drumming her knuckles on it. Her mother makes her a small plate of what was left over from their breakfast, eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast with jelly. Picking up the slice of toast, she takes a small bite out of it and pulls out her phone from her back pocket, and starts scrolling through her social medias. It consists of people’s dogs, food, photos of Brad Pitt, and....
Her brother had posted a snap from the night before. A short video, not even 3 seconds long. Jason heading into one of the rooms in his large house, with a girl trailing behind him. She wore shorts that barely covered the swell of her butt, and a bikini top. It was captioned crudely: pre-birthday head for the birthday boy.
“Y/n?”  Her dad, or maybe her mom, she didn’t know. Her stomach started twisting, a sour taste settled in the back of her mouth. A weird underwater filter covered her ears, making it seem as if her head was underneath the water, and her parents were speaking to her from above the surface.
Forcing a smile onto her face, she hummed a response, not taking her eyes off her phone screen. It was weird, the feeling that overcame her when she spotted Jason with another girl. Every time, the same thing. Nausea on her tongue, a heat covering the back of her neck and ears, and a dreadful feeling settleling in the pit of her stomach.
“So, you’re going tonight then?” One of her parents asked.
Taking a few seconds to think, taking into consideration what she could be doing instead of watching Jason....”No, I don’t think so.” Her voice is sure, and strong, loaded with finality. 
A load clink of ceramic against marble echoes in the kitchen. She looks up from her phone then, placing it on the counter face down. Her mother was staring at her with her lips pressed together in a hard line. “And why not?”
“Because a party isn’t my scene, mom.” Y/n responds tentatively, alarmed at her mothers hard and inquisitive tone. Her dad stood quietly watching the interaction, stepping to the side to that there was nothing on between y/n’s line of vision.
“And how would you know that if you’ve never been to the one. You’re brother loves them! And I think that you need this break. Andrew told me what happened yesterday. You need to let loose, y/n.” Her mother argued, her words going from agitated to coaxing. “Go to this party.”
“No.” y/n said, looking at her mother straight inn the eyes. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to spend a calm night at home,, all cozy in her blankets with a book, and not having to look at Jason with a pain in her chest.
“Fine,” said her mother, taking her phone out of her pocket.
“Thank you,” responded y/n, relieved. Her dad nodded, and opened his mouth to speak, when her mom said,
“If you don’t go, Andrew can’t either.”
Both y/n and her dad gasp. Her mom was lifting her phone up to her ear, the dial tone ringing in the room.
“N-no, you can’t do that! Andrew’s gonna be so upse-”
“Hello? Andrew? I’m doing good sweetie, uh, listen. Your sister doesn’t want to go to the party, so you can’t go either. However, if YOU MANAGE TO CONVINCE THEN YOU CAN GO,” Y/n’s mom’s voice raises to cover her brother’s protests, “THAT’S FINAL. GOODBYE.”  Yn’s mom hangs up the phone and places it next to the kitchen sink.
Not even a full second later, while y/n stares mortifies at her mom and dad, her phone starts to blare the theme song to The Simpsons, the ringtone for her brother.
She picks it up with her jaw still dropped. She answered the phone.
“Y/n! Y/n, PLEASE. WHAT’S GOING ON? PLEASE COME TO THIS PARTY, Y/N, DON’T DO THIS TO ME, Y/N...” her brother’s voice fills the room even when she doesn’t have him on speaker. he’s begging her, his voice truly distraught.
She knows she has no other option that to agree. She couldn’t do that to her brother, not when it’s the only thing he’s talked about for the past month. She wasn’t mean enough to do that to him.
“... FOR TWO WEEKS. I’LL DO ANYTHING, PLE-”
“OKAY! I’ll go, fuck,” Y/n yelled back, exasperated and defeated. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and stares down at her plate, not bearing to look at her mom and dad.
“Thank you! Oh my god, thank you. I’ll pick you up at 5, so-”
Y/n hung up on him. Glared at her mom, and the went to mope until 5 in her bedroom.
.
.
.
Somewhere along the line, moping turned into pre-party prep. She turned her speaker up all the way, and sang at the top of her lungs. Y/n was going in with the mentality of drinking and keeping to herself.  Observing, or locking herself in on of the rooms and fall asleep. She was dreading it, but wouldn’t deprive her brother of this because it meant so much to him. 
Her parents tried coming in several times, and every time she refused to open her door. 
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, she thought to herself, I’ve got this. 
Once it got closer to 5, she put in some jeans and her favorite t-shirt. A faded purple short-sleeve with a smokey image of Prince on it. She totally didn’t wear it because every time she wore it, Jason complimented her on it. 
It was 4:57 when Andrew knocked on her door. 
“Y/n, y/n, y/n, my sister whom I love so much, can you please-“ he’s knocking rapidly on her door, and y/n throws on a green knit sweater at last minute before opening the door, and her brother knocks right on her eye. 
“Ow!” She helps, the hand that wasn’t holding her shoulder bag reaching up to cover her eye. Andrew gasped, and started to repeatedly apologize. 
“I’m so-“
Y/n, irritated and upset, held up her palm and shook her head. “Just shut it. Please.” Andrew tried saying something, and y/n just pushed past him, staring ahead coldly, “lets go.”
Her previous attitude about this party had returned. She was mad and couldn’t be more bothered to attend. A tiny part, deep in her heart, ached and pulsed wildly. She wasn’t really sure how the night would end, and she didn’t like that. She wanted to know that by 10, she’d be falling asleep after a bubble bath, or reading a book safely in her bed. 
Not drinking and partying with nobody she knew (none of her friends-the little she had- were going). And she was damn sure that Andrew wouldn’t stick around the entire night. No, he’d be eager to be at all places at once, included in all the action. All. The. Action. 
They walked to Andrew’s car in silence, she strutting and fuming with attitude, and he, with his head bowed and cowering like a shunned puppy. Sure, he was older, bigger, taller, buffer than y/n, but when she was mad, he became a scurrying mouse who bent at her command. Not because she was mean or anything like that, but because Andrew loved her and he wanted to see her with a smile, and he figured listening to her was the first step. 
So, he shut the fuck up, and followed behind her, listening closely in case she ordered something else.  To clarify, y/n didn’t order. She said things. But Andrew (again) loved her and took those sayings very seriously. It wasn’t like she was the Wicked Witch of the West with a whip in her hand. It was more like she was a disappointed mother, and he her kid who loved his mom and didn’t want her to be upset at him anymore. Their dynamic was like that. 
Not even a full 10 minutes later, Andrew was pulling into Jason’s driveway, and pulling into his six-car garage, next to Kent’s car. Pulling the key out of the ignition, he sat for a moment, not turning to look at his sister. 
He didn’t have to. 
Without glancing at him, she said, “I want a margarita... please.” Then, she turn to look at him with a tiny smile; a piece offering. She’s forgiven him. And she has. Well, she wasn’t angry at him to begin with, but her irritation is gone.
Andrew laughed, his head thrown back and his ha, ha, ha’s bellowing. “Yes, ma’am. Strawberry or Mango?”
“Both.” Y/n opens the door to the car, and walks through the garage door that leads to the house. The doorway opens into the kitchen, where Kent and Jason are seated on the kitchen isle, a blunt mid-pass from Jason to Kent.
She stops in her tracks, eyes wide at the smell, and the smoke exiting in grey ropes out of Jason’s lips. Andrew pushes past her like nothing, and opens the steel fridge to look for fruit. Jason grins, a slow and lazy spread of his spit-slicked lips. Kent coughs after he inhales.
“Hellooo y/n,” Jason sing-song’s, drawing out her name and laughing. Kent snickered.
“Long time to,” Kent makes a c-shape with his hand, “see,” and bursts out laughing.
“Gimme some of that, dickheads.” Andrew makes a ‘come here’ motion with his fingers.
Y/n fakes a gasp, and hoists herself up onto the counter. She’s been surprised, and a tiny part of her itches because marijuana is a drug, but she can’t really do anything to stop them. They’re half gone and if she said something, she was a party pooper. Tucking her legs underneath herself, she takes a long look at Jason’s kitchen. She’s been in it plenty of times before, when his mom invites her and her brother other for dinner, or breakfast. She’s even helped prepare meals.
But it never gets old.
It always look bright, the lights on the ceiling shine in a way that fills the space, and the reflection off the cream marble glint against the steely surfaces of all the appliances. Toaster, fridge, sink, stove, all a grey color. There was an oven built into the wall, and another right next to it to cook pizza or bread. The kitchen isle in the middle was 7 steps long (she counted once) and 4 steps wide. There was a stove on the counter, and a sink next to it. Jason sat next to the stove, and Kent in the alcove that stretched and transformed into the sink up against the wall.
“... bringing booze and 6, and says he’s got Snopp Dog as DJ. Ben is on back up DJ, or alternate if Snopp wants to.” Kent says, coughing and waving a hand in front of his hand as he does so. Y/n’s ears perk up at his revelation, and her head turns in a peculiar motion.
“Wait, wait, did you say Snoop Dog?” She says, the top half of her body leaning forward. Andrew looks up from his task at the blender, dunking in cut strawberries with ice.
“You heard right, sissy. Snoop Dog!” whooped Andrew, pumping his arm in the air.
“Jesus Christ,” Y/n murmured underneath her breath, shaking her head.
“Raise your hand if you’re staying to fix this place up tomorrow,” said Jason, lifting both of his arms up in the air.
Kent crosses his arms as if he were in a straight jacket, and Andrew laughs and says, “Jason the party keeps going tomorrow.” He presses a button, and the machine starts blending, the loud noise blocking out whatever Jason said next. Whatever it is, Andrew and Kent catch it and bend over laughing, while y/n just watched in confusion.
Once the machine stops, Andrew pours the thick, pink substance into a sugar-rimmed glass, and gives it to his sister. Y/n takes it from him, and looks over at all the ingredients next to the machine because she hadn’t seen what kind of alcohol he put in it. She sees a squat bottle with a green sticker and a cork top; Ciroq.
It’s when she’s puckering her face after her first sip, that the first group of people come in. Andrew and Kent spring forward to answer the door, and Jason just watched them push each other to see who would get there first. Her and Jason are alone in the kitchen, and even though she sees perfectly clear where Kent and Andrew are, she seizes this as her chance to ask Jason what may be her only chance for a stress free night.
Climbing down, she walks over to where Jason sits,and poked his jean clad thigh. “Jason?” She tries not to let her eyes linger on the spots where his plain white shirt pulls tight across his chest, his pectoral muscles rippling. His blonde hair is unruly today, parting down the middle so strands of hair glittered in front of his green eyes.
“Mmm-oh! Yes?” He said, his eyes blinking owlishly at her, slow reflexes when you’re high and all that.
“Is it okay if I lock myself in your room? Or a guest room? Please, I just d-” she started to explain herself when he interrupted her.
“Yes.” Jason placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner, his eyelids drooping a little further than they already were.
“Yes?” She asked, surprised.
“Yes. Si. Oui. Andrew told me what your mom did. And I’m sorry. You can lock yourself in my room. I’m the only one with the key.” He said. Jason stretched, yawning and raising his hands over his head, the bottom of his shirt raising up and revealing the hard lines of his abdomen, the two lines that form a ‘v’; a make shift runway to what lies underneath the waistband of his pants. Y/n, having seen only one other penis, a leaked celebrity’s nudes, is surprised to see that Jason’s doesn’t have a ‘happy trail’.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Thank you. I’m going up there now, okay?” Y/n backed out of the kitchen, Jason’s nodding at her and turning his attention, and what a surprise this is, the blondes that had just walked in with a few dudes who carried packs of beers in their arms. The girls, five of them, all looked like barbie dolls in bikinis.
Rolling her eyes, y/n trudged up the stairs and walked down the hall to Jason’s all-to familiar room. She entered again, into the place she had mulled over many nights in a row.
Jason’s room would be her sanctuary, like it had been that one rainy spring day.
It was just like she remembered it.
For a teenage boy, Jason was very neat. He had a bamboo four poster bed, with Japanese art covering the space above his puffed-up white pillows. His comforter was the same eggshell color of his walls. In front of his bed he had a record player, and a wooden box with records in it. He had a mahogany bookshelf as well, every crevice stacked with books, straight across, and sideways in the spaces between books and the self above it. His room faced the backyard, and y/n had a clear view of the pool and the people that gathered around it. Jason had a window ledge large enough that he could sleep in it comfortably, and judging by the looks of it, he had. There was a tartan quilt and quilt laid out messily on the expanse of it, a book titled Norwegian Wood open with the pages-side down next to the pillow.
His room smelled like him too. No clothes lay scattered in any place, but his scent permeated the room. Sandalwood and vanilla; his musky and sweet scent of boy.
Y/n kicked off her shoes at the foot of Jason’s bed, and set her barely-even-touched margarita on his bedside table, next to a pair of clear lens glasses. That’s funny, she thought, I didn’t know Jason wore glasses.
She tucked herself into his bed, lifting the comforter out of its tucked position, and nestled tightly into the warm cocoon. Taking a deep breath or Jason, her eyes shut themselves, and snapped back open seconds later. Did I lock the door?
Fuck. No, she didn’t. She had to get back up and lock it. Jiggled the knob for extra measure, just to make sure it was locked.  Once she was satisfied,she returned to the bed, and tucked herself in. Her eyes were closing once again, when the thrum of the bass in whatever rap song it was blaring the house, shook through Jason’s room.
No matter. She was out like a light not even 5 minutes later, Lulled to sleep by the smell of Jason.
.
.
.
Jason, Kent, and Andrew were having the time of their fucking lives.
Andrew had forgotten all about y/n after Jason told him she was in his room, and had downed a total of 6 body shots, all on different people. He lost track of how many people took shots on him. Cloud nine, this is what cloud nine is. He was everywhere and nowhere. Try looking for him and you’ll only catch his shirt-tail because he was already moving on to the next scene. If you saw a flipped red solo cup, then he had been there. He was absolutely reveling in the mass of sweating bodies. His yelling inn the cafeteria had paid off.
Everyone and their fucking mom came. He’d seen everyone he knew from school, and twice the amount of people he knew from school that he didn’t recognize. True to his word, his friend had brought Snoop fucking Dog, and he was up by the pool, dj-ing with five towering giants surrounding him. This only brought more attention. The party had spread out to the streets.
Kent was out of his mind, with how high he was. Don’t tell his mom, but he didn’t know what drug it was making it look like the guy passing the blunt had an elephant head. The lights made him feel like he was in a galaxy, sitting on the rings of Saturn with two topless babes under his arms. He sat with a ring of boys in the den, where you couldn’t see past your nose with how much smoke there was in the air.
And Jason? Shit, Jason was having a really hard time getting his dick up. He was in the pool with more than TWENTY topless babes he was supposed to be boning. It was his birthday after all. Andrew had posted a sign on the shallow end of the pool that said ‘only naked babes allowed’, and would appear every five seconds to remind said ‘babes’ to “TAKE YOUR TOP OFF!!!”
No matter how hard he tried, Jason just couldn’t get hard. The girl who pressed her tits in his face- a real 10 really, with bee stung lips and all- was starting to get confused, and Jason was starting to feel like a real tool.
There he was, his party was crazy, police having been chased off, a racoon being passed around on a leash, Snoop Dog having a literal concert inn his backyard, and far off in the distance there was the shinning light of a news helicopter. And he wasn’t having it.
He did for the first hour. Did some shots, smoked more weed, grinded on some people, got grinded on. Someone had inflated a whole-ass bouncy castle next to his garage, and it was filled with nothing but naked girls (which also did nothing for him). And it was fun seeing it build up. It gave him a bit of a heady adrenaline rush, knowing that ll these people where there because-
“So are you gonna let me give the birthday boy, his birthday present?” said the girl who was topless on his lap, her voice sultry and velvety smooth. She was licking a stripe up Jason’s throat, her hips swiveling against his groin.
Jason, still wearing his clothes, jeans and white shirt and all, looked up at his bedroom window, and what he saw made his heart crack in two. Y/n, his precious y/n, was looking at him with horror, tears painting her cheeks not unlike the way they had yesterday in the hallway, and a hand cupped over her mouth. The other hand was lifted up to her ear, and Jason saw that her mouth was moving.
She was on the phone.
He started to feel dirty, like slime. Guilty, was more like it. He realized then that the reason why he couldn’t get hard is because the girl in his lap wasn’t y/n. And seeing her, in his room all alone and in pain, made him feel like scum.
Pushing the girl off without remorse, he said, “No, I don’t think so.” He ignored the girl’s protests, and also whatever the hell Andrew yelled after him. Jason looked straight ahead, striding with intention to his room. It was difficult, with all the bodies and high-fives and bro-slaps he had to give on his way up the stairs, but he made it. He was dripping all over his floor, but he made it.
He hesitated, placing a hand on the door. As the bass of This is How We Do It vibrated through the wall and against his hand, he wondered what would happen when he opened the door. He wanted to console her. Ask her what was wrong, even though he had a large inkling he knew why she was upset- that it might’ve been his fault.
Jason dug his hand into his pocket, using his fingers to peel apart the cloth because it stuck together, and felt for the key to his room. Once he found it, he fed it through the lock, and turned it, the door giving away a sliver to which he was able to peek inside.
Y/n was on the phone. She was sitting at his window ledge, on her knees, still looking out. She hadn’t heard him coming in. Shutting the door closed behind him, Jason held his breath and listened.
“Am I an idiot?” she squeaked, sniffling to the other person on the line. “Why? Well, isn’t it clear. Donna, he’s constantly surrounded by all these skinny, tall blondes, and I’m not like that.”
Jason’s eyes widened. His heart felt as if an arrow had been shot through it.
“I’m so stupid, really. How could I ever think-”
Yes, yes?
“-that Jason could like me?”
He was appalled. Frozen in his tracks, because god did she really think like that? How could she not realize it. She was so precious; all Jason ever though about. If only she knew. If only she knew-
Well, the thing is- and it might be the weed talking, but- she could know. Jason didn’t have to keep it from her anymore. He could tell her. Fuck it. Fuck it all.
“Y/n?” He said. Clearly, not loud enough because she didn’t turn around. He walked to her, close enough that his knees pressed against the ledge of the window seat, and close enough so that he could grab her wrist.
She yelped, surprised, and whipped her head around. When she saw it was Jason, even though he was smiling a dopey, sweet smile that made her want to fall into a puddle, her face fell into one of mortification. He took the phone from her hand and hung up, tossing it on the pillow.
 “Oh, y/n.”
“Jason, I-” Her cheeks flushed. Her words died in her throat, her tears frozen on her lips.
“I like you, y/n. More than you know.” And his clothes were wet sure, but it didn’t matter because fuck. Fuck it all. Jason pulled her up, wrapped a hand around her waist, and kissed her.
A soft, gentle, press of his lips against hers, their noses bumping. She squeaked and tensed, her fingers squeezing his biceps. His thumb rubbed circled to the sliver of skin that peeked from the place where her shirt rode up.
He pulled away from her, and she leaned forward with her own lips puckered, whining because he pulled away.
“I’ve been wanting to do that, for so long, you know?” He told her, placing her back down on the ledge, while she stared back up at him dreamily.
“Why didn’t you?” she asked him.
“Because Andrew would beat me to a pulp,” he said, laughing. “But it doesn’t matter anymore.” Jason reached for the bottom of his shirt, and pulled it over his head, y/n watching with cheeks flaming at the way his skin rippled and tightened with every movement. After a beat she says,
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’d rather get beaten to a pulp, than be away from you any longer.”
super proud of this. THERE WILL BE A PART 2!!
much love, -abigail
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